Echoes of the Unattainable
by Ducky and Izzy
Summary: Possessed by a cursed Nasod arm, Raven mistakenly murders his fiancée Seris and becomes a criminal to his beloved town of Velder. During his escape, he encounters a sweet yet mysterious elf by the name of Rena and discovers that perhaps there is a possibility for catharsis and a new life. But is it too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, we're just digging out some old stuff we've worked on, hope you enjoy it!  
** **A lot of time and effort went into this 10 chapter story so we'd really appreciate some feedback as we'd like to know what you think of our writing and how we can improve.**

 **Hope you enjoy it! :)**

* * *

Chapter 1

Raven was sure he did not just murder someone. Especially not his beloved fiancée. It was a nightmare, a hallucination of his greatest fear. Those were the words he repeatedly hammered into his mind as he fled from where her body lay, her wide eyes glassy and lifeless, staring at him with what he imagined to be resentment. Rivulets of blood seeped from her limp figure, dyeing her pale hair a dark, disgusting shade of red - a colour that screamed of betrayal.

The only thing the man could be convinced of was that he was no longer human, but a mere earthly anatomy of some demon. He found himself labouring to squeeze out each breath in exchange for another shallow sip of life, an amount so small it wouldn't come close to calming him enough to think straight. The explosion of adrenaline he had at first, an awakening he couldn't even recall, was fading. Instead he was stumbling over his own feet on the uneven pavement in a futile attempt to escape reality. Raven could only pray that his legs would take him to some kind of sanctuary from the real world, even if temporary, just to make his heart cease its incessant act of pounding his little remaining sanity into nothingness.

He was more than relieved when he turned into an alleyway despite being forced to endure the sight of more dead bodies littering the ground, their throats slit open by his very own hands. Not that his left one even belonged to him any more. Running through the murky, brown puddles scattered across the grimy street, he came to something that was intended to be a threatening fence. However, it merely consisted of several pieces of wire running through splintered, wooden posts that were covered with a green and white patchwork of fungus. He leaped over the inactive electric fence caging the town, landing in the shelter of

the trees that were inviting as ever with their solid arms held out in welcome. He landed, hearing a familiar crunch under his feet that for once was not the crunch of human bones. Looking around him while he caught his breath, he realised that the forest was exactly the same as the last time he saw it; every branch in its place, every ray of sunbeam leaking through the ocean of leaves in golden shafts of light. But all Raven could feel was a black hole expanding in his chest at the thought of a certain girl; she once accompanied him to this very forest every afternoon to escape the filth of city life and corrupt nobles. He checked his right hand in a habitual search of a ring whose counterpart was still attached to the fourth finger of her slender figure that now lay dead, murdered. It was there, devoid of any attached affection it once had - filled instead with bittersweet memories now tarnished by guilt and loathing. Using his left claw, he was about to destroy the reminder when he heard a lyrical voice, vaguely familiar yet so foreign.

"You shouldn't do that, it looks important!"

Raven looked up in shock. His dull, golden eyes widened with fear, masking the mixed void of emotion housed only seconds before. Only a single word escaped his lips before exertion dominated him. The events of the night smothered him, feasting on his defenceless and traumatised mind. "Seris…?"

* * *

He bounded to his room and grabbed his blunt practice sword before heading outside to go through some simple disarming techniques. As a child living in a peaceful city with a protective family, he was supposed to never see any kind of violence in his life. All the fighting was done by Velder's extremely powerful military forces, not that there had been any serious conflict for the past half century. However, for some reason Raven really enjoyed the art of sword fighting and had taken it up as a hobby to do in his spare time. His mother had even sewn a tough, leather dummy for him to practise on, although he never had the heart to tell her that it looked more like a cute plushie to hug rather than a target to hack away at.

"Ha!"

With one last strike, the boy stabbed through the dummy's torn abdomen and flicked the mouldy stuffing from his sword just as he felt a drop of rain fall on his head.

* * *

With his sleeve, Raven wiped a thin film of frost off the windowsill and closed the window, taking a second to admire the view of a wintery Velder.

There was a click and the slight creak of a door opening.

"Urgh, I hate the cold", moaned Alex as he entered the room, shrugging his coat off where it landed in a heap on the ground.

"Hardened Black Crow Mercenary can't stand the harsh weather conditions of Velder?" Raven teased in a whiny voice.

His friend groaned as he pulled his crimson scarf off, scrunched it into a messy ball and threw it at the black-haired teenager. "Shut up, it seemed like a good idea this morning but it's just so bloody cold now."

Raven chuckled, "Sure. I'll be out for a bit, I'll probably be back in an hour or so. Noel wants me to go collect the money someone borrowed from him a month ago."

Several minutes later he was trudging through Velder, greeting fellow townsfolk and dodging powdery snowballs thrown by a group of mischievous children with faces tinted a pastel pink from the cold. Snow floated down slowly like little white feathers, dusting the roofs of houses and collecting on the branches of bare trees waiting to bloom, adding to the atmosphere of tranquility and stillness that had settled over the peaceful town.

He came to a simple two-storey terraced residence with enormous plumes of multi-coloured smoke billowing from the chimney. Before Raven even brought up his hand to knock at the door, it swung open to reveal a middle-aged man in a lab coat stained with every colour that could possibly exist in the visible spectrum.

"Raven, thank you for the money and your generosity. Honestly, commoner folk have so much more decency than nobles," he gave the black-haired adolescent a bundle of scrunched up money and began closing the door. "Now if you don't mind, I need to be getting back to my newest experiment."

The door clicked shut, leaving a whiff of an unpleasant something that smelled like wet dog.

Confused, he was backing away from the house when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He swivelled around, almost elbowing the wooden shelves of a small stall that he had not noticed before.

"Hello! Can I help you?" a young girl asked.

She had slightly curled light blonde hair, bright gold eyes, fair skin and a face that was both pretty and delicate at the same time. In her hands was a plain pot of patted-down soil without even a sign of a plant much less a sprout.

"Oh, um…" Raven smiled shyly, "Just...uh, looking for flowers."

He pretended to look at the stall displays but there weren't many flowers so he ended up awkwardly shuffling up to empty pots and staring at them.

"Sorry, we don't have much at the moment because of this weather", the girl apologised.

"No, it's alright. So uh...what's this one?" Raven asked, trying to back out of the shop politely. He then realised that he had randomly pointed at a pot without anything but a pile of soil in it.

The girl looked at him strangely. "Don't you mean that one?"

She picked up a ceramic pot that held an elegantly bent flower with tiny, white petals, its stem curving over like the graceful neck of a swan.

"Oh um yeah, that one."

"Hmm that's the snowdrop. Pretty isn't it?"

Raven nodded in agreement. "Isn't it one of the first flowers to come out in spring?"

"Mmhm," the girl looked almost impressed for a second, "that's why it symbolises hope and new beginnings."

"Any story behind that?" he questioned, actually finding himself interested in this conversation.

"This flower first became a symbol of hope when a particularly long and freezing winter hit Elrios. The people were going to give up because they thought that the cold winter would never end, but then Salvatore Gaia appeared and transformed the snow into snowdrop flowers, proving that no matter what, winter eventually gives way to spring. But…" she put the pot away as she ended her rant, "I don't think you'll want to be looking at that one for a while. It hasn't fully bloomed yet."

"Oh?" the black-haired teenager looked confused, "So is there anything else?"

The girl looked very glad that she had found someone who was genuinely intrigued. "I think the best one would be the camellias. We only have the white ones at the moment, but those are my favourite."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know...but they symbolise adoration, perfection and gratitude. I quite like that," she answered.

Raven shrugged. "So you've memorised all of this symbolic flower stuff?"

She nodded happily, "My family has owned this little shop for ages and we all have a love for nature, especially this", she gestured at the flowers in the shop, "The meaning every flower has is fascinating, in my opinion."

He paused, before smiling at her warmly and holding out his hand.

She shook it and smiled back. "I'm Seris!"

"I'm Raven."

* * *

He had finally achieved his position as the Captain of the Crow Mercenary Knights and never felt so accomplished in his life, but that didn't make him entirely blind to the fact that there seemed to be some unrest among some of the authorities. Raven had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with him not being high-born but he had full confidence in Velder's superior judicial system and his fellow brothers that had trained with him for years.

he thought to himself as he proudly ascended the stairs to receive the shining badge he had dreamed of for so long.

* * *

Daffodils.

* * *

"You need a haircut~"

"Maybe later."

"You always say that."

"Well I like it this way..."

"Hmm~"

Seris combed her fingers through the tangles in Raven's nest of messy black hair and smiled to herself as he sighed in contentment and leaned into her hand.

"Is that why you don't want your hair cut?" she asked.

Raven grinned, taking her hand in his and rubbing his thumb softly over her fingers. "Maybe."

He leaned in and poked her nose with his,

making her giggle and poke it back, wrapping her arms around his neck and pecking him on the lips. Raven responded by planting a kiss on her forehead, followed by one on each cheek and one on her nose. When he finally kissed her soft lips, he could feel a smile from the slight curl of her mouth.

* * *

"I guess our little goody two-shoes wasn't so fit for the job after all," Alex mocked, shoving his so-called comrade in a way that no longer seemed playful.

Raven wanted nothing more than to feel his knuckles slam into that smug face, but instead he grit his teeth and pushed bundle after bundle of clothing into his wooden trunk. The very one he had once walked into that dorm room with almost 12 years ago.

"What's the matter? Going on a holiday already?" Alex asked tauntingly, "I guess the no-name peasant couldn't deal with the high rollers; perhaps it just runs in the blood."

He raised an eyebrow at Alex, who smirked in his arrogant triumph.

Raven shut the trunk forcefully. "Why yes of course," he agreed, ignoring Alex's second statement, "Holidays are generally lovely escapes from what bores or annoys you. Clearly, I deserve one."

"You don't deserve anything."  
"Coming from the little brat who leeched off his father all his life? Sure", Raven picked up his belongings and threw on his coat, "We all know that the world is fair and rewards everyone who works hard...or at all."

"So you're leaving?"

"No, just taking a holiday, remember?" he had one hand on the doorknob. "And Alex...this is the last time we talk as brothers."

* * *

A silver ring.

* * *

In less than a day he was stripped of his title and imprisoned for nothing more than being a commoner in a position that was only fit for someone born to a noble family. Not only had he lost his position and dignity, he had lost his faith in the world and the belief that his beloved Kingdom of Velder could rise above the corruption that had suffocated it for so long.

He sighed as he leaned his head against the numbing frigidness of the metal bars that imprisoned him. Rattling his handcuffs in one last attempt to free himself, he was about to drift off into another episode of troubled sleep when he heard a nervous whisper. "Captain!"

Raven lifted his head and winced as he twisted his neck in the sudden motion. "Kurtis is that you?"

"Yes Captain! We have come to rescue you but we must move quickly," the voice replied.

He heard the click of a key turning a lock and unoiled door hinges screeching loudly as one of his Black Crow soldiers pulled him out and patted him down with a relieved grin, "Geez Captain, you sure aren't looking too good."

"I've been better," Raven gave the group a grateful smile and patted all of them on the back, "Now let's go."

"I don't think so", a familiar voice drawled as a man with silvery hair in a braid and a larger group of militants with torches and swords surrounded them.

* * *

The robot, or Nasod, as they were called, approached his broken body. It didn't try to finish him off and release him from the torturous grip of life like Raven wished it would. Instead, the whirring machine spoke to him in a computerised voice devoid of any emotion.

"Your comrades died for you, and you want to avenge them."

"Kill me."

It took a few seconds for the machine to register what he said but it simply replied with, "Do you wish to conquer the Kingdom of Velder and take back what was once yours? Do you wish to-"

"I wish to die!"

"Do you wish for rebirth? Power?"

Power...

Raven nodded once before he blacked out.

* * *

Anger. Pain and despair. An inescapable void of darkness.

* * *

Power.

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Wow the Elsword fanfiction community has certainly died down, that's unfortunate :( Miss the good ol' glory days.

Please review, even if it's criticism! We'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2

Raven's eyelids felt heavy.

He slowly blinked them open, and the world faded into view with a kaleidoscopic canvas of every soft shade of green. It seemed to be swaying slightly, warm rays of light glowing through what he could now identify as a leafy canopy. The faint smell of flowers lingered in ethereal zephyrs that carried a spiral of lazily drifting leaves and birds chirped in their lively, falsetto voices as the sun cast its warm glow over the earth, from the soft, lush grass he was lying on to the smooth, ivory trunks of the trees around him. With every soothing wave of a branch and every ribbon of peace that seemed to shimmer through the fresh scents of the efflorescent spring, he felt a thin blanket of tranquility settle on his mind. It was as if nature itself was breathing - he could feel every slow inhale, every gentle exhale. The placid lull of its harmony defended the onslaught of a harsh reality which rendered him lost.

"Good afternoon."

Immediately sitting up, Raven's eyes widened. A firm hand pushed him down.

"Calm down, you're not in danger", came the voice again.

It was clear and melodic; a voice he had never heard before, yet it sounded strangely familiar. Painfully familiar.

He lifted his head and felt a jolt of excruciating pain, momentarily paralysing him with its intensity. Gritting his teeth, Raven pushed himself up with one arm and almost roared in agony as he felt another burning sensation surge through his whole body.

A face swam into view; a pretty face with bright, green eyes and a very concerned expression.

"That's why I tried to stop you from sitting up, you really ought to rest a bit more."

That voice.

Seris...?

He was hit with a wave of searing pain yet once again.

"Are you alright? That arm is doing something to you, isn't it?" Seris asked, placing a hand behind his back in order to steady him.

Raven responded with a groan.

A series of images suddenly flashed before his eyes; fiery explosions, corpses sprawled on the gore-stained ground, Seris' face twisted with horror. Terrified, Raven smashed the foreign limb into the ground again and again, almost as if he was expecting it to snap off and reveal his arm, but the only progress he made was an angry cut that burst all the way up his shoulder and exploded with fresh blood.

"No...NO!" he screamed, holding up his left arm and staring at it in disbelief.

It consisted of stiff cords entwined together and encased with metal segments, starting from an armoured shoulder guard and ending at a sharp, claw-like structure in place of his hand. Not a single inch of human flesh was visible.

"I have no idea what happened before I found you, but that artificial limb is clearly new", Seris pointed out, seemingly unphased by his sudden outburst as she carefully applied more ointment to an oozing laceration on his shoulder.

Raven stared at her, gazing deep into the emerald eyes that he knew so well and loved so very much. She blinked several times and stared right back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What? Am I wrong?"

The confused man grabbed her hand in his right one, leaning in and gazing at her face in a mixture of fear and wonder. "Is it...is it really you, Seris?"

She slipped her hand out of the man's grasp. "My name is Rena, not Seris. I heard you mutter that name a few times in your sleep though."

Looking her up and down, Raven realised that this woman was indeed not Seris. Her hair was straighter and tinted green rather than blonde, her face was more mature and beautiful rather than delicate, her eyes seemed to shine in a different light and she seemed to be...well, more endorsed in certain areas.

"I thought you were someone else."

Rena smiled at him warmly. "That's alright~ I'm guessing that she looks a lot like me?"

Raven turned his head away.

She gently patted his shoulder and stood up, gathering the array of ointments and bandages into a small, leather satchel. "You'll be fully healed in no time, you're holding up quite well."

* * *

"You're holding up quite well", Alex laughed, "I thought you'd have gone mad by now."

Raven snarled and beat his head against the unrelenting bars of his jail cell. "What did you do?"

His skull hit them again with a metallic thud.

"Why did you do this to me?"

His knuckles were clenched now, as if his body was preparing itself to strike Alex in a fit of rage. Yet he wouldn't give him that satisfaction of seeing his anger and helplessness. The traitor stood a few feet away, too far for Raven to reach through the sides of his cage, but close enough for him to smell the putrid stench of betrayal lingering on his former friend.

"Some...precautionary measures", the white-haired man chuckled darkly at his own joke, "Can't have a commoner commanding the Black Crows now, can we?."

"We were comrades!"

"Blood is thicker than water," he sneered, slamming the heavy, iron doors behind him.

* * *

"Get away from me!"

Raven scrambled away from Rena in terror as his eyes began glowing an unnatural shade of gold. His hair stood up on end like that of a threatened beast and a low, guttural sound escaped his throat.

"Calm down. The more agitated you get, the harder it is for you to control the arm," Rena hushed soothingly, holding her hands in front of her while slowly taking several steps back. The tortured man gripped his head with his claw, the acute pain in his mind far too intense for him to notice the mucilaginous droplets of dark blood trickling down his face. Raven could feel himself losing control over his body, losing control of his sanity, losing control of his own identity.

Trembling, he held his arm out and screwed his eyes shut as white-hot flames burst from his palm, disintegrating the nearby trees into clouds of ash in less than a second. He roared in agony and charged into a tree trunk, repeatedly slamming his head against the cracked bark. The trunk stained with dark smudges from his desperate attempts to obliterate the sinister being beginning to overtake his already waning lucidity.

"Stop! Please, stop!" yelled Rena.

He turned to her, unearthly eyes glaring at her with pure abhorrence.

"Alex. You took everything from me", the man snarled, baring his elongated fangs.

"Alex? Who-"

"I trusted you like a brother."

Rena desperately tried to find a sign of anything remotely human about him, but he was entirely consumed by the effect the cursed limb had on his being.

"Because of what you did to me, Seris died", he growled, clenching his claw into a dangerously sawtoothed fist.

Seris...that name again.

"Stop it. You can't let it take control of you so easily!" she demanded, trying hard not to let her voice crack.

* * *

Seris' body lay limp in the distance, a gory wound carved into her abdomen, exposed skin tattooed with crusts of blood. In the empty space between them, there was nothing but the echoes of his own thoughts ringing through his eardrums.

 _Don't you see? You were too good, too incorruptible, but your need for revenge killed her. Really...you only have yourself to blame._

Vengeful laughter cut the distance between them, the sight of her corpse replaced by the thought of a man with long, white hair twisted into a neat, flawless braid tied in place with a scarlet ribbon, back turned to him. Right that moment, this very man would be proudly stepping onto a podium in his silken military robes, making a speech that would inaugurate a new era in Velder.

* * *

His visions were ridden with chaos, flames engulfing his subconscious. His arm grasped at something, anything that would make this horrific nightmare end. He tried many times, grasping at thin air while the high-pitched whirring of machinery echoed throughout the sterilised room. The metal tips of his claw caught on a thin metal panel of some sort but his momentary victory was quenched as a blade twisted its tip into the tender sinew just below his shoulder. Raven heard only a reverberating buzz as his vision slowly faded to darkness.

* * *

Upon waking, Raven found himself sprawled on some kind of leafy bed with moonlight shining softly on his face. Grunting, he propped himself up so that he was leaning against the wall, a single bead of sweat rolling down his neck, soaking into his already drenched shirt. A movement in his peripheral view caught his attention and he glanced outside where the silhouette of a lone figure sat calmly on a nearby branch. Even though their head was turned away towards the night sky, he could tell it was her. Silently, he watched as she brought her knees to her chest, pressing her chin to her arms which she wrapped around her legs.

He remembered, with a bitter sort of ache in his chest, another girl who would sit by a window, staring into the distance dreamily, not really seeing what was before her eyes.

Rena began to rock herself gently, seemingly unaffected by that fact that she might fall off the branch at any moment. Her arm caught the soft glow of the moonlight and Raven was affronted with the view of angry scratch marks criss-crossing up her forearm. From where he was, he could make out that the skin around it had turned a nasty shade of mauve and that she also had a considerable amount of shallow but inflamed cuts on her cheek. Though it took him a few moments, his body seemed to act on its own accord once realisation dawned upon his thoughts, choosing to endure the pain in order to walk over and join her. As he reached the doorway of what seemed to be a shelter nestled in the bough of an enormous tree, it became apparent to Raven that he could not get across to where she was sitting unless he wanted to plummet to the forest floor which seemed a little too far away for his liking. However, his presence seemed to have distracted her from her thoughts, for she looked up, her detached expression morphing into a guarded cheerfulness almost instantly. It was her eyes that gave away the worry and something, maybe sympathy, that she intended to keep from him.

"Hello to you too. It's good to see that you're up, I was starting to think you wouldn't wake for a few more days," she greeted.

"What happened?"

"Hmm? You went unconscious again."

"No, to your arms and your face."

Rena sighed, knowing from his tone that it wasn't a question, but a demand for an explanation as to why she had not heeded his initial attempts to distance herself from him. As much as she wished to, she knew it wouldn't be right to lie to him.

"You snapped and went a bit wild", she answered evenly.

"So why didn't you run away?"

Her brow furrowed slightly. "Why would I?"

"I'm a deranged monster and I've killed an innumerable amount of Velder citizens. I might snap any minute and attack you again, and I'll possibly end up killing you this time."

"You're not a monster."

The man narrowed his eyes.

Rena crossed her arms in front of her and stared him down. He looked away awkwardly.

"What?" he grumbled.

"You're not a monster", she stated firmly.

He scoffed and returned into the shelter, Rena nimbly leaping onto the roofed wooden platform to follow him.

"What's your name?"

"Raven."

The green-haired lady held out her hand and smiled warmly, "Nice to meet you, Raven."

He nodded and shook her hand firmly with his calloused one. "Nice to meet you too, Rena."

They caught each other's eyes for a second before Raven awkwardly took a step back and pointed at the mattress of leaves he had been lying on when he woke up. It was the only item on the floor of mismatched wooden planks tied together staunchly by ropes, and the only item in the whole makeshift shelter aside from Rena's small leather satchel of supplies.

"This is the only bed right?" he asked while looking away.  
"Yeah, I built this quaint little shelter for myself not too long ago. It's a good hideout and the forest patrol squads will never find it", Rena beamed, patting the wall proudly. "Wasn't really expecting any visitors though."

Raven edged to the small opening that served as a window and peered over the sill cautiously. "You're not worried about falling down?"

"Nope. Us elves are born and raised in the forest," Rena replied.

He raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly, having heard enough stories about the long-eared fey to be able to believe that. "Alright. Well, you take the bed, the floor is fine for me."  
"You haven't even fully recovered yet, you need to sleep comfortably," the woman suggested in concern.

"No, I'll take the floor thanks."  
"It's okay, you should take the bed."

"Floor please."

"Bed." Rena challenged him with a stern glare.

"...Okay, seems like I have no other choice," Raven submitted, the hint of danger in the lady's tone suggesting that he shouldn't dare think of doing otherwise.

She winked, "Good. I'll be taking first watch tonight, I'll wake you up in a few hours!" she announced brightly.

Raven sighed in defeat as he watched her nimbly bound from the door to the lookout branch she was sitting on before. He noticed the ease at which she moved through the tree limbs and how she was completely unphased by their height above ground, clearly making her claim to have lived in the forest for her entire life credible.

* * *

Having completed her shift of the night watch, Rena mentally bade the moon farewell like an old friend and entered the shelter to wake Raven for his turn. The first thing she noticed was that his bed was empty.

The next thing she noticed was a lump with shaggy black hair muttering and snoring away on the floor in the corner of her room.


	3. Chapter 3

So we actually uploaded a picture of our ugly-ass faces as our author avatar, what a lol.

Please drop some reviews on whether you enjoyed this or not, and if not, what we can improve on!

Thanks a bunch :)

* * *

Chapter 3

Light seeped into the forested hillside like liquid amber, illuminating the curved tops of trees and uniting the land with a cloudless sky. This breathtakingly picturesque sunrise over the forest was what Rena had admired every day since she was a young girl. For a peace-loving elf, the mesmerising scenery was almost like a breath of surreal magic in what seemed to be a world of mindless bloodshed and politics.

With a trilling crescendo, the dawn chorus began, birds of the forest each warbling their own melody which interlaced with other tunes, creating a mellifluous consonance that echoed throughout the woodland and greeted the coming dawn. There was something she loved about this diurnal birdsong, the way they celebrated every passing day no matter the circumstances, the way they all sang something dissonant yet harmonious.

It was also a cue for Rena to awaken from her trance and begin the day.

Getting to her feet, she bounded from her lookout branch to the nearby shelter, her movements swift and practised. She swept aside the tangled layer of vines draping over the doorway and entered, making her way to Raven who looked tormented even deep in his sleep. He lay twitching on his back, mechanical limb steaming with dark rills of blood thickened around gashes that seemed to have re-opened from him thrashing around. She wanted him to rest longer, but his wounds had to be treated sometime soon in case of infection.

"Raven?" she asked tentatively.

He frowned but didn't seem to respond, much to Rena's disappointment. She wasn't too eager to physically shake him awake...his reaction would be unpredictable, most likely violent.

She was right.

The moment Rena laid a hand on his shoulder, he jerked awake and gripped her arm, twisting her wrist to flip her over and pin her down. His Nasod fist was hovering above her face in a split second, almost about to punch it into nothing more than an amorphous mass before his conscience overtook his battle reflexes just in time. The man rolled off her and apologised.

"It's...It's fine", Rena answered shakily as she stood up and dusted herself.

Raven noticed the uneasiness she was trying to conceal and showed her a wry smile. "Old habits just die hard."

She nodded and pursed her lips. "Yeah. It wasn't your fault."

He gave her a cold stare.

"Um...okay, let's get breakfast!"

* * *

Much to the man's horror, Rena's idea of breakfast was some kind of muesli and a pitcher of thick green liquid. He wondered if she originally had blonde hair that turned green because of her questionable diet but he decided to stick to logic and keep his mouth shut.

The assortment of dried raisins, nuts and granola wasn't too bad. It was simple, filling and about twenty times better than the viridescent concoction that Raven was more than eager to avoid.

"Aren't you going to drink it?" asked Rena, motioning at the full cup that lay untouched in front of him.

He glanced down at the crushed flecks of leaves suspended in the mixture, gulping when a bubble oozed its way to the foaming surface. "Uh...I just feel like water right now", he choked.

Rena pouted and downed the contents of the cup before rinsing it with the water from her canteen and storing it away. She sighed and tied her wavy, green hair into a high ponytail, peering at Raven out of one eye. "You know what we should do?"

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"Pick some berries!"

"You go do that."

"Aw come on, it'll be fun!" Rena attempted to persuade. "Besides, you want food for the next few days don't you?"

Raven had an intense look of disgust on his face. "Are you saying that we'll be eating berries for the next few days?"

"Well we're going foraging for berries, roots, edible leaves, the like. This forest is like a goldmine for leaves~"

"...that's because it's a forest."

Rena rolled her eyes. "Come on, you killjoy. Don't expect me to feed you for the next few days."

He groaned and attempted to get to his feet, wincing at a sudden nauseous feeling. He suspected it was due to his loss of blood. He was in a frustratingly weak state and it angered him that there was nothing he could do about it.

Rena pushed him back into a sitting position and tutted. "I need to clean up your cuts. They've dried up now but it seems like you were wriggling around too much last night~"

She pulled out a cotton swab from her nearby first aid satchel and poured some cloudy liquid onto it. Raven mentally braced himself for the stinging sensation that would follow but he could only feel the gentle pressure of her fingers and the relieving feel of dried crusts of blood unsticking from his skin. His taut muscles relaxed and he closed his eyes slightly, listening to Rena's quiet humming and the whispering of the wind blowing through the forest. He felt strangely at ease, peaceful, even if he was currently completely vulnerable to someone who seemed like she could be a formidable opponent.

"Okay, all done", she sang, "They should be healing in no time!"

"Thanks."

Rena smiled at him kindly in response to his gratitude and for a moment he saw Seris in her place. Seris...she had such a beautiful smile...

"Raven?" the lady called after noticing him staring at her, his eyes clouded with an emotion that was unmistakably remorse.

He frowned. "Let's just get this berry-picking thing over and done with."

"Well alright then, no need to be so eager all of a sudden. Follow me!" Rena leapt out the door and plummeted through the air onto a bough below. He looked down, watching her first land lightly on her feet then tumble down the tree as if she were a practised acrobat.

Raven suddenly felt very much like a heavy brick.

Although it was possible to make his way down by clambering along the branches, it would undoubtedly be a painfully slow process and he had already noticed an alternative method to reach the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Raven edged his way across the outside of the shelter then jumped, feeling himself fly through the air momentarily before he tightly gripped onto a cord-like vine. He slid down, feeling the wind rush in his face and the return of a long-lost sense of exhilaration. But it was short-lived; the vine tapered off unexpectedly and he felt himself free-falling through the air. Flailing around desperately, he tried to grab onto the nearest branch but his body was still weak and unable to respond.

Perhaps Raven would have unceremoniously turned into a grisly pancake if Rena had not swept him up and carried him to the ground where she softly sat him down.

"That wasn't necessary", he grumbled when he finally caught his breath.

The lady chuckled. "I know you don't like people saving you but that's not the way to thank someone."

* * *

 _"I know you don't like people doing things for you but that's not the way to thank someone!" Seris pouted as she shoved him playfully._

 _Raven scoffed, "What, should I bow down and present you with a bouquet of roses?"_

 _"Yep!" The blonde girl giggled and linked her arm through his, "Bright, red roses!"_

* * *

 _Bright red liquid pooled around her dead body._

* * *

 _"-over my dead body!"_

 _"Oh I will get what I want, Raven. Too bad you won't be there to see it", Alex laughed mockingly._

 _The enraged man lunged at him bare-handed, landing a solid punch to his smug face but stopping short when he felt the sharpened tip of a blade graze his cheek._

 _"Don't you see, brother? I have a sword and you have nothing."_

* * *

Raven stood up, glaring at Rena with iridescent golden eyes. "Nothing!"

She took several steps back. "Nothing?"

"Nothing! You left me with nothing!" he yelled.

"I didn't-"

"Don't even try to-"

"Stop, Raven! Stop!"

The man bared his teeth and growled like a rabid wolf.

Rena took another step back. "How did I leave you with nothing?"

"You turned me into a monster! You stole my life from me and...and Seris!"

* * *

 _Seris_

* * *

Rena thought carefully. "Seris meant something to you, didn't she?"

"Something? She meant more to me than you'll ever know, you filthy bastard, "

She tested him, curious. "But your Seris is never coming back."

"Not since-"

He lunged at her with his steaming arm outstretched, body quivering with anger.

"Not since I killed her", he muttered darkly, his tone heavy with remorse.

Rena dodged his attack and gasped, unable to conceal her horror. "You killed her?"

His eyes narrowed and a roar scraped its way up his throat. "YOU DARE MOCK ME NOW?"

His cold claw scraped at Rena's skin as he caught her off-guard and swiped faster than she had ever seen someone move before, even in her many years of combat experience. For the first

time she felt that her life was on the line, and a very thin one at that.

She stepped backwards, one careful foot at a time as Raven slowly made his way towards her like a predator closing in on his prey.

"There's no point in running, Alex."

Rena continued to back away and her eyes darted desperately from left to right to see if there was any means of escape. But there was none. She noticed the cord-like muscles in his neck tense not a second too soon before he launched a barrage of attacks that barely missed her for the surrounding trees, several already toppling to the ground as they were completely sawed through. It was then she realised his hair had quickly transformed from its usual black through to a bleached white, his eyes glowing unnaturally with sheer fury. At what, she wanted to know.

But she had to worry about saving her own life first.

"STOP RUNNING AND DIE!" Raven landed several blows on her and rammed his shoulder into her stomach, leaving her winded, momentarily paralysed, and helpless as he slammed her into the ground. Rena felt her body being crushed under his weight and heard the jagged fingers of his metal claw grinding against each other with a harsh screech, itching to carry out his revenge. He raised his fist, about to end her life in one unrelenting final strike.

"Wait, Raven!" she coughed out, choking on what could be her last breath of air. She tried so hard to make her next words sound as genuine and tender as possible. "I love you."

He stared at her, the frenzied look in his eyes gradually dissipating and his hair visibly returning to its usual charcoal colour. The conflicted emotions inside of him were evident on his face as what had just occurred and who he had actually attacked dawned on him, which seemed to prove too much for his mind to come to terms with. Raven's eyelids began to droop and he collapsed on top of her with a thud.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it!

In case you haven't figured out by now, all those line breaks and whatnot are supposed to provide flashbacks and the scattered nature of them are supposed to represent Raven's confused and tormented mental state.

If it doesn't make sense and is just over-complicated in a stupid way, please let us know! Sometimes an author becomes too familiar with their work and forgets what it's like from the audience's POV, y'know?

Thanks and see you in the next chapter!

\- Izzy & Ducky


	4. Chapter 4

Posting this because I'm procrastinating.

Final exams WHY YOU GOTTA BE LIKE THIS?

Also, just wanted to add that we're from Australia so some spelling we use will be somewhat different to the way Americans spell things, such as using s instead of z, e.g. organising instead of organizing or adding a u to o, e.g. armour instead of armor. Just letting you know!

* * *

Chapter 4

As he collapsed on top of her, Raven's head fell with a thump onto Rena's chest and she could feel strands of his hair fall across her face. She had expected it to be bristly with its stiff, spiky appearance but it was surprisingly soft and actually rather pleasant to touch. Not that she had touched it yet but…

She tentatively reached out with one hand and paused to glance at his face. It looked so unperturbed and innocent unlike the tortured and agonised man she had seen just seconds ago. He seemed completely at peace, unmoving, his chest rising and falling with each soft sigh. Rena held her breath as she leaned in to gently brush back the loose hair that was draped over his closed eyes, smiling at how he murmured incoherently like a young child. There was a little black tuft sticking out just above his ear that she twirled around her finger and, getting a little too bold for her own good, tugged on experimentally.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Rena yelped. "Raven! I-I was, I was um-"

Her attempt to scramble away in panic was hindered by Raven grabbing her wrist and not letting her move from where she was. She involuntarily let out a gasp.

"Calm down, it's not like I'm going to attack you again", the man said in an amused tone.

"Good..then...well…" Rena regained her composure and huffed, "Yes yes, come on, Raven. We've got a long day ahead of us."

He groaned, clutching his head as he slowly pushed himself off Rena, wordlessly reaching out a hand to help her up.

"Thanks. You feeling better?" she asked in a concerned tone while shaking off some leaves that had collected on her skirt.

Raven shrugged, "Better, but not great."

"Well I'd rather that than nothing at all. Ready to go?"

"Not yet. There's something I need to ask you", he said as he eyed her uncertainly, "Why did you-"

"Let's talk while we walk!"

With that, Rena hauled him onto his feet and threw a woven basket in his hands. Once it was clear that she expected him to follow, he had no choice but to plod behind with his leaden legs. It took a while for him to get used to the feel of controlling his own body again and having untainted blood pumping through his veins which left him feeling significantly weaker, but eventually he was only treading a few footsteps behind her. The forest itself seemed to work some kind of magic on Raven; he felt a little more renewed with each breath of fresh air and the sun's warm rays on his skin seemed to even thaw the cold front that he had maintained until now.

"Rena. I know you didn't mean it when you said that you loved me."

Relieved that his words didn't come out awkward or hurtful, he lifted his head to see her reaction. The lady didn't even so much as glance at him as she jumped onto a log, landing lightly, so she could hop onto another moss-covered one that seemed of interest to her. He coughed.

"I...", her lips pursed slightly in thought. Before standing up to face him, she made sure that her usual soft smile had returned. "I didn't wish to alarm you, Raven. In hindsight it was probably wrong of me to exploit my likeness to this Seris of yours but I was about to die and it was just a chance I needed to take."

"Of course."

Rena stepped down from the log and turned to face him. "I thought that if I said something that was once very important to you and if you were blinded enough to mistake me for someone-"

"I know."

"Seris is your lover."

"Was."

She gazed at him for a long time, almost as if she was trying convey her empathy through that very stare.

Raven looked down. "She was murdered."

The very weight of those words seemed to stifle them and even the sunny environment was unable to stop their moods from taking a turn. Rena had never experienced what it was like to be in love but she knew from the tales the elders used to tell when she was a child that it was a feeling so powerful, it could either give someone a new purpose to live or destroy it entirely. The man standing before her was teetering dangerously towards the latter but there was something about him that she liked, even admired, and so Rena was determined to prevent the worst from happening.

She let her hand rest on his chest fleetingly as she floated past him. "Come, Raven. Don't you want to eat for the next few days?"

He rolled his eyes as Rena winked playfully at him and grabbed the handle of his basket to tow him behind her, but went along willingly with a barely audible chuckle.

"So this is mugwort yes?" he questioned, pulling at the spotted leaves and sniffing them cautiously.

Rena stifled a giggle. "Unless you want a steady stream out your nether regions for a week I suggest you toss them away."

Raven groaned and pointed at some lighter-coloured leaves. "Mugwort?"

"Dandelion leaves, actually. But hey, those do work!" the lady smiled encouragingly. "That being said, I'd like to live to see the next sunrise so why don't you stick to picking some acorns?" Clearly Rena was somewhere between amused and disappointed in his foraging abilities, hopefully more amused, he thought, and so Raven huffed comically as he backed far, far away from most of the foliage.

"With luck", they both thought, "we won't end up killing ourselves."

The afternoon was spent foraging for what would be their food that day and the next. They didn't talk much as they did so, but the quiet was one of companionship rather than awkwardness. Raven would occasionally steal glances at Rena, his eyes still convincing him that the beautiful figure before him, humming and looking completely content as streaks of her hair shimmered light green and gold in the sun, was an echoing remnant of his former lover. Unbeknownst to him, Rena would notice whenever he laid his eyes on her, and she would smile to herself a little each time.

Later in the afternoon, she decided to break the silence.

"Hey Raven?"

He grunted, which Rena took as a reply.

"How are you feeling?"

"I've had better days", he answered gruffly.

"Because you've been staring murderously at those acorns for the past ten minutes and I'm beginning to wonder if they said anything particularly insulting to garner that kind of reaction."

Raven suppressed a smile and shook his head, "I was just deep in thought". He went back to picking the acorns off the ground, scuffing the rotten and broken ones into the dirt.

Rena decided to throw away her tentativeness on questioning his past. "Is it Seris?"

The man suddenly tensed and she almost regretted asking before he once again relaxed and turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Well, her and...other things."

"What kind of things?"

He hesitated; Rena already knew more about his painful history than he'd usually care to reveal. Up until now she had seemed more careful about approaching the subject, but at present her eyes were questioning, yet still gentle, and in them they held more concern for him than he had felt from anyone in a while.

"Well...there was this guy called Alex-"

Rena briefly recalled him calling her Alex when he had attacked her.

"And he was a brother to me. But after he and a group of other nobles from Velder kicked me out of my position as a Captain of the Crow Mercenary Knights-"

"The Crow Mercenary Knights? As in the elite soldiers of Velder?"

Raven nodded slowly, his expression unreadable, "They aided me in escaping the cell I was imprisoned in, but we were discovered. I was tied up and I had to watch every one of my trusted comrades die."

"Alex and his associates killed them", Rena inferenced.

The man's face had now twisted into one of intense vehemence and it was only until Rena motioned for him to take deep breaths did he start to calm down. Raven losing his temper would place them both at risk.

She decided to save her other questions for later as a result of this, and they almost fell back into a strained kind of halt in the conversation when Raven surprisingly decided to speak up.

"You seem to know a lot about this..." he gestured to their surroundings "whole flora business."

"Well it's an elven tradition, although I suppose my centuries of living could account for that too."

"You're over a hundred years old?" Raven attempted to hide the disbelief in his exclamation.  
"I'm older than I look, silly human. In any case, it's good that I have that experience. You'd kill yourself in a day Raven, you've hardly been successful so far, though the acorns were...somewhat satisfactory."

"I was a military-trained mercenary - I could take down and cook a large phoru if I didn't have to stick to your vegetarian torture."

Rena visibly cringed. "You'd kill a lovely, innocent phoru? They're as much a part of Elrios nature as you are!"

A nearby bush shook and rustled.

"Like the one over-"

The forest breeze became still.

The bush moved again.

She immediately shifted into a defensive position, "That's not a phoru, is it?"

Raven answered by mimicking her stance.

Within a second a band of soldiers had them surrounded.

* * *

Don't forget to leave a review! 3


	5. Chapter 5

I have my final exam in a few hours and once that's done, I don't have to worry about school ever again. BEST FEELING EVER.

Tomorrow I'll be flying to America for music studies, then New Zealand for an international competition. Not stressed at all, please kill me.

I'm gonna rely on Ducky to post these chapters weekly as I'll be away for a month.

As this is our 5th chapter, and the halfway point through the story (in terms of chapters), we'd like to thank some people for their favs and reviews!

Thank you for the favs, **7ScarletLies** , **Amaterasu31** and **KyzarClyde**. Really appreciate it!

For the reviews:

 **TheRunAwayPanda** : Thanks? It definitely is, but hopefully not all the way through.

 **Katana** : Thank you!

 **7ScarletLies** : Hahaha thank you, we'll make sure to update weekly ;) At least Asura is cute af aye

Enjoy the chapter! :)

* * *

Chapter 5

"State your name!" the leader of the group yelled. He had mousy brown hair in a close-cropped style and large eyes full of determination which the hardened facial expressions of their other assailants mirrored.

"I'm Rena and this is Raven," she gestured at the man next to her, "And nice uniform, I didn't know bright red turtlenecks were in fashion!"

The leader blushed and straightened up, self-consciously glancing at his attire - a scarlet military shirt with one gold button at the very high collar, a metal shoulder-pad on the right, and loose white trousers with a decorative red-trimmed black stripe down each leg. There were a number of buckles and leather straps fastened around his torso, which Rena assumed were twin sword harnesses, as well as a black cloth armband wrapped around his left bicep.

"This!" he adjusted his collar, "Is the uniform of the prestigious Ruben Patrol Team. We are the highest-ranked military infantry of Ruben and our task is to investigate, defend, and protect!" He recited those words as if he had been practising them all his life.

Rena smiled amusedly and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you then, Ruben Patrol Team Captain. It's been a while since someone set foot in this area of the forest."

"How would you know?"  
"I'm an elf and I've been living here for the past week, of course I would know."  
The leader lowered his sword and shook her hand. "Lowe is the name."

As the rest of the soldiers sheathed their weapons, a low growling could be heard from the man beside Rena. Alarmed, they reached for them again but hesitated when Rena shook her head furiously.

* * *

 _Raven emerged from the room, dragged across the cold, tiled floor by two bulky machines. The place where his arm had been severed throbbed with intense pain and his mind felt like it was burning; from what, he didn't know, and that terrified him._

 _There were strange whirring and beeping sounds echoing all around what seemed to be an operating room. The tip of a metal rod jabbed at his side experimentally as if he were a mere carcass. Raven tilted his head up to identify the perpetrator but his vision swam and he toppled over, crashing into the floor._

 _More poked into him, mocking his powerlessness, sending sharp jolts of pain every time they made contact with his bare torso. Each of his muscles started to tense as they seemed to gloat at him, every smug whirring of machinery prodding at his temper like a hot iron._

 _The whites of his knuckles trembled against his skin as his pulsing veins twisted and ran cold with thick anger. The very air around Raven's trembling body pushed to feverish temperatures, beads of both fear and hatred gathering on his brow._

 _And then it happened._

 _With a yell, every muscle contracted, his temper exploded, his bones cracked with fury, every tiny vessel within him seeming to burst with blazing energy._

* * *

"Oh no. No, no, no. Not now, Raven!" Rena called out, taking several steps away from the possessed man.

Lowe followed suite, but drew his sword "Soldiers, get our your-"

"No!" Rena yelled, almost scaring herself with the amount of command and desperation in her voice. And perhaps, was there also, fear? Fear for Raven's safety? "I'll take care of this."

She cautiously approached him, taking a look at his wild eyes and immediately remembering those huge, black bears that would saunter through the forest. They were generally quite docile, but at the beginning of her lifetime she had made the mistake of threatening one's personal space and the sight of its sharp claws was enough to remind her that the sound of sticks crushing under them could easily be the sound of her bones. As it caught sight of her, its eyes grew steely and dark, jaws widening as if ready to rip her throat out before she could scream. Raven's eyes were even darker, seemingly possessed with something that she could feel was even more dangerous than that bear. His mechanical arm glowed with heat as he prepared to blast her and the soldiers who still stood at attention despite their obviously quaking knees. Rena bravely rose to face him, aware of the anger radiating from his body and golden eyes so clouded with rage they could barely see.

For the few silent seconds that followed, she could see the real Raven behind his stare, one petrified and wretchedly trying to cling onto any shattered fragments of his own mind that remained.

But before she could move, something flew past her, barely missing her head. The yells of the soldiers could barely be heard above the sizzling sound of a fireball rocketing through the air as it blew a nearby tree to smithereens. Without turning, Rena could feel the intensity of the explosion and smell the singed of the tips of her hair. It was dangerously close. But from the way Raven angled his arm, the next blast would not just land close - it would strike its target. Instinctively she crouched as the next burst of flame flashed above her, the soldiers kicking clouds of dust behind them as they scrambled to escape. Raven's neck swivelled towards them as they desperately clambered away, his claw ripping through the ground they had been standing on only seconds ago. Rena rose for a second, only to slam back into the ground again as another sonic boom tore through the air. She could even feel the tremors rumbling through the forest floor as she ducked. He was clearly overcome with a ruthless rage and fury, to which there was no remorse. There was only strike after strike, resulting in a fiery ring around the pair as the soldiers fled their ground. Rena could barely balance on her feet, let alone launch a counterattack. Although she was skilled in combat he would not hesitate to kill her, and that left the elf completely at his mercy.

Which meant she had to try it again.

She crawled towards the centre of the inferno, holding her arm up protectively in front of her face as the air grew redder and hotter. By now, even the winds themselves seemed to form an inescapable tornado. Rena prepared herself for a fleeting window of time where she could reach the eye of the storm and the second it appeared, she sprung forward, landing so close to him that her eyes were level with his sharp fangs. Through the roars of the blaze and the screams of the crumbling forest surrounding them, Rena uttered those three words that could reach through the wall that divided Raven from the monstrosity threatening to overcome his humanity.

"I love you."

All movement ceased at once.

Rena let out a sigh of relief before her knees buckled from exhaustion. She could feel the rapid ebbing of the dark force that had overtaken him and watched as the remaining slivers of fire died into glowing embers that idly floated across the charred forest clearing. Earlier, when they were foraging here, this very piece of land was bursting with colour and life but now it was a lifeless crater in which nature itself seemed to be defeated, a ghostly echo.

Raven stared at her, shock written all over his facial features. He dropped to the ground and knelt beside her, gripping her shoulders tightly. Rena winced as she felt the scalding heat from his left arm.

"Seris...my Seris, I'm so sorry", he sobbed, digging his face into her collar and clinging onto her as if she would disappear any second.

She could see the soldiers returning one by one while staring at them in confusion but that wasn't on the forefront of her mind. Raven was falling to pieces right in front of her, the mind that so persistently held onto his tenuous string of sanity broken.

There was no sound or movement other than his incomprehensible murmurs and the careful footprints of the others around him, all completely at a loss to what was happening. Their swords were still raised, untrusting of the man still on his knees. The soldiers observed the pair carefully as Rena reached a hand around his shoulder and patted his back lightly. How could she be so unafraid of a monster that had almost killed them all only moments before?

Lowe cleared his throat and his distinctive orotund voice pierced the awkward quietness that had settled over the clearing . "We'll let the couple have their moment."

Raven snapped out of his reverie and glared at the captain while a wide-eyed Rena shook her head vigorously. "Oh no no no it's not like that we haven't known each other for very long."

"Well I'm more worried about something else", Lowe's voice turned more authoritative at once, "You'll need to explain why this man wanted to kill everybody a moment ago. I believe the Nasod arm has something to do with it: an artificial limb of that nature is illegal. I'm going to have to report this to the authorities of Velder once we get there."

The elf stood up and slung her bow back behind her shoulder. "So as I began before this fiasco, I'm Rena and this guy is Raven. We haven't known each other for very long but I've been sent on an errand by my elven elders to figure out why the power of the El is fading so I'm travelling from town to town and doing some investigation," she glanced at the man who was beginning to stand up with some difficulty, "Raven got abducted by Nasods and they attached the arm. He was very lucky to have survived that, and even luckier that I came across him in the forest. So close to death, from the mistreatment, from the torture..." At this point she looked expectantly at Lowe, waiting for a reply. The captain observed Raven, and now that he was standing, it was clear to see that his eyes had already returned to its normal amber colour. Without breaking eye contact, he nodded once. Every soldier was hesitant, eyeing their commander skeptically. He gestured downwards, seemingly confident in his decision, and one by one they reluctantly lowered their weapons. Still, they stood guarded, surrounding the pair.

"Well then, Rena, are you confident that we will be safe if we are to continue our travels with this man?"

"From what I have observed, yes."

There was a firm sincerity to her tone, enough to confirm to Lowe that he had made the correct judgement for now. At last, he turned away from the pair to command his soldiers directly. "The pair will follow us back to base. Given that we have important business to see to, we shall welcome them but must continue with our work. Head back to camp." Raven looked to Rena, unsure of whether to move along and in return she gave a nod of encouragement. After all, he looked like he needed a change her forest lifestyle of foraging and vegetarianism.

While some soldiers marched forward obediently and others trudged grudgingly through the forest, most looked at the pair often as if waiting to confirm their suspicions. Rena did her best to avoid their glances, instead characteristically chattering away to Raven and Lowe about the forest and the sights they came upon rather than mention the fact that her companion was mentally unstable and capable of killing them all.

"I hope," Lowe began, interrupting her monologue, "that you two do not mind our simple base. You see, we would usually stay in the barracks belonging to the Velder Militia or at least an inn, if not for…"

"For?" Rena prompted.

He cleared his throat. "As you would already know, most of Velder was destroyed in a series of attacks. The base we built is a temporary encampment because the majority of the buildings in that city have been razed to the ground, meaning that there is no accommodation for us. Ours is sufficient, not ideal, but enough to sustain these troops."

"Should be fine!" she replied in her bubbly manner, "Thanks Lowe."

Raven was overcome with a wave of nausea and struggled to swallow the growing lump in his throat. The thought of the destruction he had caused engulfed his mind, strangling any sense of rationality out of him and forcing him to relive the pain of his loss and guilt. Each step became heavier, more laborious, and the tiredness that had been creeping upon Raven since he had attacked the others was showing itself. It latched onto him and dragged him down like a pair of unwanted shackles.

Soon enough, the sight of leafy forest floors and verdure were replaced by bristly shrubs and bare patches littered with only stunted trees and dry grass. The plants and animals they saw in abundance previously became scarcer along with the constant twittering of birds. As they walked along, the ground became firmer as the forest began to fade away behind the group. Even the very light that illuminated their faces became stronger and harsher, no longer filtered through the protective canopy above them.

"What brought you to the forest, Lowe?" Rena asked, interrupting the brief silence that had settled over them, "Your camp isn't really in it."

"You're right, it's situated on the outskirts of the forest and close enough to Velder so we can travel there quickly, but far enough so that we won't be surprised with an attack. However, it's standard for us to scout our surroundings in order to familiarise ourselves with the environment and negate the possibility of unexpected risks", he replied matter-of-factly.

The elf nodded and smiled her usual bright smile. "I didn't know a village as small as Ruben could produce such disciplined troops. Impressive!"

"Well there's not many of us, you know, so we have to make up for numbers with skill and dedication. That's why we're still here today", Lowe scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Why are you here? Velder is quite a journey away from Ruben."

"Apparently a demon of some sort went on a rampage in Velder and turned it into a pile of rubble. The military authorities have called for each surrounding municipality to supply some troops in defense because they, well mainly one noble named Alex, believe that it'll be back to finish off what it started."

At this point Rena noticed that Raven was being unusually quiet, even for himself, and now she was beginning to realise why.

...All of a sudden her voice turned frighteningly serious. "Say...what does your team's diet consist of? How much expertise do they have in foraging? There is a lot in this area to be learnt, although I assume your soldiers must know plenty from their daily pursuits." She shot a look with slightly narrowed eyes towards the commander, eagerly anticipating his answer.  
"All our troops must have basic training in hunting, it is one of our staple activities, essential for keeping us well…"  
"Well?! WELL?! You slaughter helpless animals for what you think is the sake of wellness?"  
Taken aback by the otherwise cheerful Rena's sudden outburst, Lowe was momentarily stunned; "With an army as active as ours, it's really more economical and practical to…"  
"And morally incorrect!"  
Raven smirked. Given Rena was speaking to a group of soldiers armed with swords, surely the killing of animals for sustenance was not the most 'morally incorrect', as she put it, thing the army had been ordered to do. Still, she was adamant, and continued to preach the benefits of her vegetarian diet to all that were or weren't listening.

The soldiers gave a relieved cheer as the familiar sight of cloth tents came into view, eager to rest and also escape that elf's irksome rant. As they were often reminded, any return to base unharmed was deserving of a small celebration.

Lowe threw his arms wide. "Welcome to the Ruben Patrol Team's temporary base!"

* * *

A confession? Already? Oh don't you worry, this isn't a cringe fest; Rena definitely had some ulterior motive behind that. ;)

Guess you'll have to see next chapter!

Please please leave a review, even if it's a negative one. We'd just really appreciate any kind of feedback.

Honestly would even settle for an eggplant emoji right now.


	6. Chapter 6

Surprise surprise, it's Ducky, a.k.a. the slightly more mediocre half of this couple.

Unfortunately, Izzy is approximately 15,979km away right now, so, here I am.

Thanks for reviews! They make Izzy (and me) very happy, and her being happy is my favourite thing in the world. Other than dogs, we love dogs. In hindsight, I wonder where we got Pugsworth from...(read on to find out what I'm talking about)

I remember writing this specific chapter and making Izzy laugh with my silly ideas, so hope you enjoy them just as much!

(Clearly, I'm also the sappy half.)

 _Also, we have a little poll on our profile, 'Which Elsword fanfiction would you like to read next?'_

 _We've been thinking about:_  
 _\- A crime thriller with fast cars, hackers and shootouts  
\- A novelisation of the original Elsword plot  
\- A story about the characters in high school_

 _Head to our profile and let us know what you'd like to see!_

* * *

Chapter 6

"Oh, it looks much bigger on the inside!" Rena remarked as she peered through the tent entrance, sending a bright smile Raven's way.

He shook his head in amusement as they continued walking, giving his eyes a moment to adjust from the pavilion's dark and musty interior to the sudden flash of sunlight that assaulted them. Around the pair were a dozen or so tents pinned to the ground in a horseshoe formation, a small, red flag sitting atop each of their dome-like roofs. A dry zephyr swept through the campsite, toppling a pile of logs with a series of hollow clunks and gently ruffling the off-white canvas of the tents.

Lowe strode out of his tent and approached them. "I told you it wasn't impressive."

"No no it's much better than what we had," Rena assured as she lightheartedly waved off his comment.

He smiled gratefully in return. "Well I thought I should let you know that we still follow a strict routine of getting up at 6 in the morning and training. Of course, you don't have to but feel free to join us during mealtimes."

Raven nodded. "Thank you for your generosity."

"Well we're in the same position here and being generous is something us Ruben villagers are known for. That being said, you do need to contribute", Lowe reminded with a wary glance at the man beside him, "Rena, I'm sure you can teach our knights how to forage and Raven, can you hunt?"

"Yeah, no problem," he answered as he avoided Rena's piercing gaze.

"Excellent!" Lowe clapped his hands, "Your tent is that one over there."

"Whose tent?"

"Both."

"What?"

"Well uh...none of the soldiers wanted to share a tent with you and all of them wanted to share one with Rena so putting you two together was the more logical option", Lowe explained with a small cough, "She can also keep an eye on you since you two seem to be very close."

The elf blushed as she realised what the captain was implying. "I think you have the wrong ide-"

"Well, it looks like the sun is setting now so I'll head back. Let me know if anything troubles you, my tent is the one with the symbol for Ruben on its flag", he smiled and saluted them before leaving to reprimand one of his soldiers for falling into the drop toilet.

The pair turned to each other.

Rena winked at Raven. "I guess you're my new roommate!"

"It's okay, I don't smell that bad. I wash myself maybe once or twice a century," he winked back at her, "Not too good at washing clothes though."

"That explains why you've been shirtless for the past two days."

"I have?!"

* * *

Raven woke up with the sun on his face, gentle rays flitting through the tent flaps. He sat up with a start, breaking into a cold sweat.

 _Where am I?_

"Raven?" a silvery voice called.

Exhaling with a relieved sigh, he turned to look at the elf who was sitting on the ground a few feet away from him, singing softly while examining some of her arrows.

"You've been playing with those arrows a lot lately. Any point to that?" he asked.

"Hmm", Rena placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully, "I'm trying to think of a way to make them faster. I don't know how much longer we'll be able to enjoy this peace and quiet so I might as well make the most of it."

They had been at the camp for two weeks now and Raven felt himself gradually becoming more aggravated by the arm that viciously fought to take over his mind. There was only one lifeline that was keeping him in check and allowing him to appreciate those moments of quiet he needed most.

"Hey Rena?"

She hummed in response.

"How much longer do you think we'll be here? I can't stand this."

"You can't stand me?" the elf teased, dramatically placing a hand over her heart.

Raven chuckled. "You're the only thing I can stand."

Unwilling to explain his comment to a bewildered Rena, he slipped on his new shoes and strode out of the tent, walking for several minutes to where he had trained daily for the past fortnight.

Lowe and his soldiers had been gracious enough to provide them with fresh clothing - he now wore a slightly different pair of black trousers and had a set of clean bandages wrapped around his scarred chest. Clearly Rena was preferred over him though, as she was gifted a brand new dress almost identical to her own if not for the brown leather cross-stitches down the front and belt across her waist. They even took the time to tailor golden embellishments along the hem of her skirt and separate sleeves for her arms and legs. Fortunately, the soldiers had enough integrity to give both he and the elf a pair of metal shoulder guards, armoured gloves and shoes.

On the other hand, they were too afraid to let Raven keep his sword so he had ended up relying on his arm and training by testing its limits and getting used to utilising the mechanical limb as a weapon.

With a yell, he swung at a nearby oak tree with it, using his right arm to propel his body weight forwards. The combination of punches were powerful and practised, thudding into the sturdy trunk and landing crater after crater until eventually, the raw centre of it split and the massive oak toppled to the ground. Before it could land, he moved his arm in a swift, sweeping motion and three metal spikes taller than Raven himself rose from the dust, piercing right through the solid wood and stopping the entire tree from its descent. He stopped to examine his work, eyeing it critically and readying himself his final move. With a shout, he launched into the air and dove down with inhuman speed, slamming his fist into the tree and driving all of his power into the impact until it shattered into an explosion of splinters. He didn't even need to recover before moving onto the next one, creating an expansive clearing littered with the remains of huge trees and boulders by the time the sun told him it was already afternoon.

When he first started practising attacks with the Nasod claw, every strike would bring with it a wave of intense pain that would electrify him and make his mind feel like it was melting, but he continued to fight through the agony. The limb finally began to comply and cooperate with him despite his choice to use the straight-up brute force it offered and refusal to take advantage of its explosive firepower. This was a huge victory on Raven's behalf, yet he could feel that his method would only last for so long - every time he grew in power, it became harder and harder to retain his sanity.

Sweating, muscles sore and left arm burning, he knew he should've stopped by then but the desire to push himself to the furthest boundary overshadowed his rationale. A solitary boulder stood in his way and all of a sudden a burning rush surged through his bloodstream, leaving him dazed yet feeling like a new part him that was straining for release was just unshackled. A deep rumble emanated from the Nasod core of his arm, becoming louder and louder until with a roar, he summoned a chain of black spheres. He hurled them into the rock and, the arm controlling his movements, managed to turn away just before spikes sprouted all over them. They created a web of fine cracks that travelled along the boulder's surface like a flood of ants escaping from a nest. It didn't end there. A multitude of Nasod spears fell to the ground and exploded into a burst of fire that would've burned a forest down if not for the fact that he was surrounded by nothing but dust.

"No!" Raven let out a tormented scream, "Stop! Stop it! Stop trying to control me!"

He rolled around on the ground as he struggled to subdue his left arm which was flailing around and coughing up flames. It slammed into his torso numerous times before an aura of dark smoke surrounded him and his golden eyes glazed over.

A massive spearhead slowly floated down from the air above him, gradually descending until the very tip of it touched the boulder.

And then it exploded.

At first the ground became swollen as if gathering energy under its molten surface. It expanded into waves of power rolling through the air, each growing stronger than the last. Raven grit his teeth as he felt the energy being drained out of him like an unstoppable river. The sheer amount of force expelled within the next second was so great, a column of fire burst into the sky in a pulsing hurricane of fury. Every visible surface turned to shades of burning red and black with the air becoming feverishly hot, while the storm itself evoked winds that swirled around what was now a pyrocumulus cloud of debris and sound of the sudden discharge burst through his eardrums, each tremor beating harder into him until he fell to the scorching ground. At last the nuclear plume seemed to have reached its maximum height and it hung over him in the air, casting a huge shadow over the clearing and his cowering figure.

"Goddammit!" Raven yelled, slamming his head into the ground. "I can't let this happen! Not when I'll finally…"

He screamed and screamed for what seemed like hours until his own hoarse voice overpowered the deafening whirlwind of thoughts in his head. A pair of elven ears heard the echoes of his cries ringing across the field and sad, green eyes watched as his body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Raven kicked at a brown patch of bristly weeds, sending a small cloud of dirt and dust into the air before it settled again all over his boots. He frowned in disappointment as he blamed himself for what he considered to be another failure. Although the anger he felt surging through his body had not translated into total destruction this time, he couldn't help but think _,_ " _If I wasn't by myself, someone could have died. A citizen, a soldier, a parent, a child..."_

Raven had now walked to the outer boundaries of the camp when the thought stopped him.

" _Or even a whole settlement."_

He felt a dull pain in his right hand. Raising both up to inspect them, he noticed that his right fist was clenched so tightly that the blistering skin had pulled taut over his somehow bruised knuckles. In his left, he could see the twisting wires and jagged blades of that cruel weapon, an unwanted part of his body. The jolts of electricity that always came when he tried to use the Nasod claw were still pulsing through his arm, a constant reminder to Raven of his inability to master it - this must have been his hundredth attempt in the past fortnight. Yet again, the power was still out of his control. Still, when he'd finally be given a chance to finish what he had set out to do, he would not be able to do it. Between the scattered shouts of the soldiers in the distance and the whispering of wind, it seemed the only other noises to be heard were the various clunking and rumbling sounds escaping from the accursed limb, and his heavy footfalls as he paced along the edge of the camp. With each step, his heels dug deeper into the dead grass, uncaring of the ugly ditches he left trailing behind him. He finally stopped his relentless pacing when something unusual caught his eye.

Nestled between tufts of grass was a small, white flower that stood out like a shining diamond. It had not yet fully bloomed, with its petals still folded inwards into an elegant teardrop shape.

" _No matter what, winter eventually gives way to spring..."_

The voice slipped away from him as quickly as he had remembered it. Raven shook his head slowly; was it this flower? His knowledge of botany couldn't compare to Seris' or Rena's, and yet the delicate curve of the stem was so familiar to him, he did not doubt it as much as he could not look away from it. He crouched to inspect it closer, taking care to gently reach across with his right hand to pluck the delicate white flower from the ground.

"No!"

Rena dashed up beside him, suddenly grabbing and holding his wrist back. "Don't do that!"

Giving her a puzzled look, Raven stepped back. Her sudden appearance immediately made him adopt a defensive stance out of instinct, and he was not even sure from where she had come. Yet, the genuine look of concern on her face shook him out of harbouring any cold suspicion. They stood there in the field for a few moments, looking at the plant, then each other and back to the plant again.

Raven lifted his arm only to notice a hand still holding his tightly.

"Oh!" Rena remarked, pulling her hand back, "Raven, I'm sorry...just be careful with the flower."

She blinked a few times, regaining her composure before she gave Raven a small smile and crouched to the ground. "See Raven, you can't pick this flower yet, it hasn't had a chance to bloom! It's one of the first flowers to bloom at…"  
"...the beginning of spring…" Raven muttered under his breath.

She raised her eyebrows in astonishment, having heard his barely audible mumble. "Why yes, actually, they serve as a symbol of hope and new beginnings..."

He looked away.

"What's bothering you Raven?"

She was used to receiving silence as an answer from him, but it was a different, strained silence. "Hmm, well what are you focusing so intensely on?"

Jumping to her feet, she hopped beside him and gazed into the distance, following his line of sight.

"Towards Velder?"

Another pause followed, and then a long sigh from Raven.

"So something about it is bothering you?"  
"How do you know if anything is even bothering me?" he replied in a dead tone.

"I just know."

"Elf thing?"

"Mm, hundreds-of-years-old elf thing."

The campfire sent billows of smoke into the dimming purple sky. The rising sparks of light were a clear marker as to where the rest of the group were, which Rena suggested they follow despite Raven's hesitant attitude. Walking back quietly to the main camp, she noticed that her companion's head mostly hung low towards the ground other than the occasional glance upwards when he assumed she was not looking.

"His knuckles look like they're in a lot of pain," she thought as she saw him clench and unclench his fists over and over again, "Poor Raven…"  
"Hey! The birdies have arrived!" A soldier called.

A few others nearby guffawed as the pair sat down cross-legged next to each other while trying their best to ignore their jests. Some murmured to each other as Raven came close, still wary of him. Heavy footsteps interrupted the troops' calls and hoots and they immediately fell silent.

"We haven't seen Raven since the mid-day meal! Keeping yourself occupied? "

"Well enough."

Lowe raised an eyebrow, and quickly did a headcount out of the side of his eye. Relieved that no-one was missing, he returned to the conversation and chuckled. "Then I hope you enjoy yourself a little bit more now. Rena could help you."

"Not you too!" the elf scoffed.

The officer only looked back and forth between the two of them, gave an approving nod, and walked around to the other side of the fire. Over the heavy clanking of his footsteps, they could hear a small laugh becoming increasingly distant, then lost in the crackle of the flames and loud guffaws of the soldiers. By day, the troops were more reserved and obedient, but what came with the falling of night was the beginning of song and storytelling.

Too caught up in his dancing, an old soldier tripped and brushed against the flames. The back of his shirt glowed with smouldering embers as he dove to the ground and rolled frantically in the dust. "FOR THE LOVE OF EL!"

His comrades rushed to gather around him, roughly pushing Rena to the side in a hurry. Raven felt a hand catch hold onto his knee for support, but the elf was clearly too preoccupied by the commotion to notice.

"MAKE WAY. MAKE WAY." Lowe ordered, with his voice immediately returning to its usual authoritative tone. "AND STOP YOUR RACKET!"

The camp fell to silence, with only the spitting and hissing of the flames to be heard, as well as loud, whooping laughter from the ground.

"Report to me, soldier!"

"Ooh that was warm, that was warm. I feel toasty!"  
"Pugsworth!"

"Not as bad as that time, that time I set fire to the tents!"

"The tents?"

"It can't be!"

"Was tha-"

"I thought that was just a legend!" cried a younger trooper, gazing down at the bearded man in awe.

"Simply a legend? Oh no, Quail, you see, I was where I should not have been. Should not have been there, but I was, I was indeed. It was years ago, yeaaarrsss ago!" He laughed, still rolling about the ground. Raven gave Rena a confused look when she involuntarily squeezed his knee.  
"Oh!" She gasped, retracting her hand as quickly as she could. "I didn't even noti-"

"And being the genius one I am", Old Pugsworth interrupted with a shout, "See what happened tonight? Yes, I have my way with fire, and soon I had burnt down a row of freshly assembled tents, all as new as a shiny penny!" He was soon overcome by his own laughter, unable to choke out his words. The others sat down around him, amused by the sight. "And they weren't even my tents! Or the other junior cavalry, oh no, not ours at all."

"Then whose?" prompted a female soldier, smirking as she began to pare an apple with the knife Old Pugsworth had dropped in his hurry to put out the harmless flames.

"The commander's!"  
Lowe grimaced.

"Yes yes, the commander's. He came to me, and called 'ATTENTION SOLDIER.'"  
Funnily enough, Rena noticed, his imitation of his previous commander sounded remarkably similar to Lowe's distinctive voice.

"He called 'ATTENTION. Soldier why have you sent fire to your tent?!' And here's the big kicker ladies and gentlemen, here's the kicker. I said, I told him, yes I said; 'SIR not my tent, and not our tents. No sir, your tents sir!' And then I ran, I did, I ran from him hoping he could not recognise my face. He must've been too shocked, too shocked by the flames and the sight of his burning shelter to chase me. If only it was intentional, it would have been the most perfect, perfect I tell you, prank of all time!"

"But still, it's a legend!" Quail whispered to Rena. Old Pugsworth was met with a series of laughs and cheers, as they pulled him to his feet and began to dance with him, safely away from the fire. Lowe looked to his tent uncomfortably. He moved to the place where Quail had been, the adolescent now having gone in an attempt to sweet-talk the woman who had spoken earlier. It was lucky her knife found its way into the crisp flesh of the apple, and not him.

"Old Pugsy may say everything twice," he mused to the pair, drawing their attention back to the nearby dances, "but tell him once and he gets the job done. It is why he's still here. He brings an element of...fun, too."

From her right, Rena heard a stifled laugh. There was a smile on Raven's face, maybe one of the first she had seen, and most definitely the happiest.

He was reminded of his days with the Black Crow, laughing with his comrades around a sputtering fire, teasing their own commanders, the other soldiers, his friends. He too was once, as he recalled, just as loud, lively, and playful as the troops around him were. The laughs he heard were as broad and booming as before, and the look of joy on his face as genuine. It was as if a piece of those moments had returned now.

The elf could not help but smile as well, even wider than before. Somehow, despite the flurry of movements and the mass of people that had gathered around them, their smiles were directed at each other and the warmth they felt inside was not made only by the flickering fire in front of them.

Before Rena could think of something to say, Raven laughed a warm, husky laugh and her ability to string together any comprehensible thought escaped.

* * *

Stay tuned for more, and more ramblings from me while Izzy is off doing amazing things :)

\- Ducky


	7. Chapter 7

Ducky here :)

Thanks to those who have voted in our poll so far! The community seems to have died down a bit, unfortunately we've only had a couple of people voting, it's a tad disheartening, so any future projects are up in the air at the moment. If we get enough responses, we'll start working on it soon ^^

That being said, here's chapter 7, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7

"What in El…"

"My head hurts!"

"I'm not in my tent."

"Why are you spooning me?"  
"My toes are frozen!"

Grunting noises.

"The tents! Where are they?!"

"Pugsy probably burnt them down eh?"

A roar of laughter erupted through the patrol team who all lay in a tangled mess, as did a large collective yawn.

"It's still so dark, we must be early."

"No the sky is overcast, sunrise passed hours ago," hummed the elf who watched them with amusement from the doorway of her tent.

"How are you here?" a soldier asked while rubbing his head, clearly in a hungover state. "How are we all here?"

"Question is, why are you all still there?" she teased.

One by one they sat up, accompanied by a low chorus of groaning voices. Peering through the opaque screen of clouds was the sun, which wearily shone its lacklustre rays on the scuffed dirt ground and sat on the sagging tops of their tents. The remains of the fire hissed in the cool morning, wisps of smoke snaking upwards towards the grey sky. Raven joined Rena in spectating the group who were just beginning to notice that they had spent the night asleep in the open, having been too disoriented by the previous night's drunken festivities to find their own tents. Their confusion and the way they scrambled to collect their thoughts made Raven smirk and the elf stifle a laugh. "Rise and shine sleepyheads!"

Another round of grumbles and complaints echoed through the troops.

"SHE SAID RISE AND SHINE SOLDIERS! UP UP UP!"

With a jump they leapt to their feet, tripping over each other to retrieve their backpacks and begin their morning run. Lowe followed hot at their heels, reprimanding the slowest ones who had suffered the most from the night before. Pugsworth skipped in leaps and bounds over the logs towards the training field, too merry to notice that each of the people he passed stood over their own tent defensively until he was out of sight. "They're an interesting bunch, aren't they?"

Raven looked at the elf, who was gazing at him expectantly. "You seem rather fond of them."

"Well they're cute", she replied, "And don't act like you aren't too. I saw how happy you were last night."

He feigned a grimace. "And how much you drank", Rena pointed out smugly.

"It became quite clear to me last night that we're both able to hold our liquor well." She elbowed him in his side. "It takes a lot for an elven beauty like me to lose my dignity."

"This hardened ex-mercenary could take you on any day. I have many hidden talents, and one of them includes drinking."

"Oh please, Raven, you're still hiding things from me when I've been stuck here and putting up with you for so long?"

He dropped his head to the ground. "So why are you still here and putting up with me?"

"Hmm?"  
"You heard me."

"I've met stranger humans in my lifetime," she giggled, "You can't be much worse than an alchemist who accidentally turned himself into a dog."  
He smiled for a fleeting moment. "Besides, I have all the time in the world," she said.

"And you think I do? I...I've been training every day and I still can't get anything right."

"I know, Raven, I saw that yesterday."  
He sighed. "So you were watching me."

"You've progressed a lot farther than you think you have."

Turned away from her, Raven could see the burnt logs that now remained in the pit, dead with their outer layer of bark shriveling up like a peeling coat of paint. Morning dew still rested on the stiff grass, the sun seemingly absent behind the haze of clouds that hovered over the campground. In the distance he could hear Lowe shouting commands at his soldiers and the dull thuds of swords hitting leather bags, accompanied by half-hearted grunts. Perhaps it was the warmth in her eyes, or the gentleness in her touch when she placed a reassuring hand on his arm, because something about the elf made Raven feel so vulnerable and...human.

"What do I do?" he asked.  
"I can help. I know someone who can. He's as ol-, well, as experienced as I am, and he's a trusted friend. He'll come," she said in her melodious voice.  
"Here?"  
"Yep! Right now!"

Rena pulled out a small, wooden whistle from her belt and ignored the bemused expression on her companion's face as she blew it .

"Trust me, it'll work!" she laughed.

Silence followed.

"You have to give him a while though, he can't teleport." Raven coughed and looked around, not sure of what to expect. "Let's talk while we wait! How's th-"

"Rena," he interrupted, his amber eyes staring intensely into her green ones, "I need to tell you something about me."

"O-Oh! Of course," she sat down and patted the ground beside her, "I'm happy to listen to whatever you need to talk about."

He joined her and the two faced each other, both noticing that their knees were touching.

"You deserve to know my whole story, it's not fair of me to keep it from you any longer," his words came out grave and unfaltering, "I'm a murderer. I'm a monster."

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Rena requested softly.

He paused to take a deep breath and nodded. "As you may recall from what I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was born in Velder, and my one dream as a child was to become one of the esteemed Crow Mercenary Knights. I worked really hard to achieve that, and I did at a very young age. But after attaining the position I realised that I wanted more; I wanted to be Captain of the Crow Mercenary Knights. For a commoner to attain a status so high was almost unheard of, but somehow, years later that was the rank I found myself in. For a short time I was so happy - I had everything I wanted; my dream job, trusted comrades who respected me, a fiancee to whom I was engaged...she was..."

"Seris."

"Really beautiful," he closed his eyes, "Seris was so sweet and lovely and delicate, but holy El she was stubborn and would always get her way. She loved nature too, you know? Especially flowers, she had a flower shop of her own. We were going to be married this spring."

Rena felt an unfamiliar pang in her heart. She could tell by the way he smiled and the tone of his voice that Raven loved Seris very much, so much that losing her would've broken him completely.

"But not long after I became Captain, one of my closest friends, someone I saw as my brother, betrayed me. You see, I was nothing but a peasant to the nobles of Velder and having someone like me in that kind of position was a huge embarrassment to them. A disgrace. So I was sentenced to prison and would've stayed there for life if not for my fellow Crow Mercenaries who broke me out that night. I was lucky that Seris had kept her promise to stay safe while I was gone and didn't join them even though I know she would've wanted to. Everything went so well until we got into the forest. Not this one, but the one on the other side of Velder. We were surrounded by troops belonging to the nobles and one by one, I watched as my friends were slaughtered right in front of my very eyes."

A shudder wracked his entire body as he struggled to hold down the bile that was burning in his throat.

"I-I was beaten, stabbed and so close to death when some Nasods found my body and transported me to one of their laboratories, where they attached this darn arm. I was just an experiment though and this arm was a faulty prototype so it malfunctioned and I managed to break my way out. By then, my only reason to continue fighting to survive was to see Seris again and kill Alex. I did see Seris again actually...but…"

He broke off, choking on his words and blinked back hot tears.

"I know, Raven, I know."

"The reason why Lowe and the troops are here? Velder being almost completely destroyed? That was all because of me," he said.

"No, it wasn't. That was all the arm's doing," Rena placed a hand on the side of his face and turned it so that he only saw her eyes. "I know you, and I know what it's been doing to you. You're Raven, okay? Not a monster. Not a murderer. A strong, brave man who has been through enough pain in a day to rival what I have experienced in my centuries of living and still have the will to keep fighting. That's what I admire about you."

Taken aback, he couldn't think of any way to reply to what Rena had just said so all he did was gaze at her as she lightly brushed her thumb over his jaw.

Without any warning, a mound of dirt appeared in the grass and bumped into Raven's shoe.

Upon impact, it sank lower and lower, compressing until it was almost completely flat.

Rena pulled away and he moved his foot slightly to inspect the patch where the mound was a second ago. There was nothing.

'Tap...tap...thump!'

Frowning, he looked again. Still nothing. "Tap..thump...thump…"

The sounds became louder and louder, each round more hollow and deep than the last. Raven tilted his head at the elf only to have her give him a knowing look before glancing down expectantly at the ground. "Thump...thump...THUNK!"  
"Adel!"

"Hello, it's me," Adel sang through the dirt, wriggling his way to the surface.

Raven jumped back in surprise; was this waist-high rodent the old man Rena was talking about?

"I was wondering if after all these years we'd meet again, pong," he continued, attempting to pat the dirt off his cap and ears only for it to land on his moss-green jacket. With a little curtsey, she beamed brightly at him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, pong?"

"It's for my friend, this is Raven!" she said, gesturing towards the man who was still somewhat stunned by the appearance of the animal in front of him. "Raven, this is Adel, Chief of Altera Village and the oldest Ponggo to have ever lived."

Blinking through the white tufts of fur covering his eyes, he looked the man up and down. "That arm isn't good news, pong."

The subject of his attention grumbled in reply.

"It's been giving him some trouble," Rena said.

"Difficult to control, pong."  
"Yes, exactly that!"

He silently thought to himself for a moment before reaching out to take the man's arm in his paws, instantly feeling the pulsating heat below the metal exterior burning through his fur.

Meanwhile Raven was wondering why the elven lady had summoned an anthropomorphic pet with the voice of a grandpa but as she had mentioned, Adel knew what he was doing, and she clearly trusted the raccoon-hamster enough to bring him here to help.

"I've seen something like this before. It's a dangerous weapon both to enemies and the user. Nasod technology, I'm assuming, but it's faulty…pong."

"See Raven? He's a wise one, if anyone can fix it, it'll be him."

"Yes it will be," the creature nodded, "but it'll take some work. When you go out of control it is quite destructive, pong?"  
Before Raven could reply, Adel had already begun to speak. "Very well, we must move further from the camp, pong."  
"Further?" asked the elf.

"Yes, we will have to push him to the farthest boundary, pong. Is there any way of restraining him?"

Raven shifted uncomfortably, already feeling a sickening sense of dread building inside of him.

"I can."

"Wonderful, pong! You must come with us, Rena."

She never had any intention of leaving him anyway.

The pair walked away to the outskirts of the settlement. They arrived at what was noticeably the same area that Raven had trained in the day before, as the absence of life and trail of destruction formed an ugly, charred void. A head popped up from a new hole in the ground, though this time, covered with ash.

"Oh my," said Adel, "destructive indeed. But this place will do, pong."

Pushing himself up from the ground and taking the man's arm in his paws again, he leaned in to peer directly into Raven's eyes before giving Rena an assertive nod.

"You wish revenge upon a person, pong. Gather their image in your head and attack Rena as if she was that person."

His eyes widened. As angry as he was at Alex, he could not even bear to touch her. "No way! I can't attack her."

"It's fine, you're not the only one who trained all day. I can hold my own," she reassured while gently resting a hand on his bicep.

"No."

"It is okay, pong," Adel piped up, "If you try to forget that you are attacking her, it will come to you easily."

Raven frowned and shook his head, afraid to even lay a finger on her in fear of hurting his companion. Giving his arm a small squeeze, she smiled. "Trust Adel, he knows what he is doing. Besides, you won't be actually attacking me."

"But what if it all goes wrong?"

"Nothing will go wrong, pong. We will make sure of it."

He screwed his eyes shut and blindly launched at Rena.

* * *

" _I'm sorry Captain, we failed you."_

 _And with a final cry, the last of his comrades threw himself into the nearest sword which belonged to none other than Alex. He flicked the blood off his weapon with a look of disgust._

" _How does that feel?" the traitor sneered._

" _You bastard!"_

 _Alex ignored him and continued in his cold voice. "Raven. A scavenger bird picking off scraps on the street became a figurehead for leadership and righteousness. How ironic."_

 _Raven spat at the noble's feet and glared at him but he knew._

 _He knew this was the end. There was no weapon in his hand with which he could defend himself, nothing left for him to fight for._

 _Seris._

* * *

 _Seris. The way her eyes seemed to twinkle when she smiled, the way she would hum to herself without realising it, the way her silvery voice would sound like music to his ears, the way she would leave him feeling warm inside every time she looked at him, the way she would tuck her green hair behind her elven ears with the most graceful flick of her head._

 _That wasn't Seris._

 _That was…_

* * *

"Rena, why did he stop, pong?"

Raven's arm was lifted above him as if he had frozen mid-strike. The elf was unable to move at all, her feet planted to the ground and breath hitched in her throat. Her heart was beating so loud it seemed to echo through the clearing, and all she could see was the pair of golden eyes that had been staring intensely into her own for the past minute.

Adel observed the pair thoughtfully. He noticed that Raven was close to passing out, trembling violently with beads of sweat forming on his furrowed brow. "That will do, pong. That will do."

It was a while before they broke eye contact and their bodies relaxed. The rodent scratched at his furry ear in thought. Nobody spoke, not even the usually chirpy Rena, who now alternated between glancing at Raven and the ground. Unlike the day before, where from this very spot an explosion of energy shattered through the air, in this moment not even a single gust of wind blew. Adel stepped backwards, his soft feet hardly breaking the silence, and returned to the small hill in the ground from which he had come.

"Pong," he whispered quietly to himself, before disappearing downwards.

Raven blinked at the hole in the ground in confusion, moving the jagged talons of his Nasod claw back and forth between a fist and an open palm. Although still close to him, Rena barely flinched as they cracked and hissed, instead only breathing calmly where she was, waiting for the creature's return. Neither moved, looked at the other, or even made a sound until a rumble rolled through the ground and a familiar face appeared in Adel's molehill.

"This time I brought a friend, this is Abbi pong!"

Behind him stood the smallest Ponggo Rena had ever seen. She was much shorter than Adel, despite the fact that she wore platforms on her feet. Her dirty-blonde fur was messy and hardly brushed, only pulled back by rusty hairclips and a pair of brassy earmuffs that sat, rather fittingly, over her disproportionately large head. Around her waist, much like the other creatures of her kind, sat a brown belt over which tools of various shapes were clipped onto. She beamed at Raven with an extremely wide smile, quickly beginning to tamper with his arm before he even had a chance to acknowledge her presence. Her small hands reached to her belt and pulled out a strange device, quickly fastening it to the limb screw by screw. "What's that?"

"This, pong? It's the Rage Preventer! It will help, it's only temporary, but it will help, pong."  
"This is the best that can be done on the mechanic side of things, Raven, the rest is up to you, pong." Adel added.

"But don't worry, everything will be much easier with this attached, pong!"

All the while, Abbi had a distinguishable look of joy on her face as she worked, as if she were elated to do what she did best. Her paws moved skillfully, and Raven became more and more fascinated as she carried on quickly. It seemed Rena had found someone as cheerful as herself; she and Abbi continuously asked each other questions with voices equally sweet. The air was filled with chatter and laughter from the two, as well as the squeaking of metal against metal, sloshing of oil and the clanging of a large hammer in between words. It was clear why the small rodent wore earmuffs as she worked, but still she seemed to hear every word the elf uttered.

"All done, pong!"

She stepped back, wiping her flaxen paws of grease and flakes of metal. Not once had she stopped smiling, and now her whiskers were twitching with excitement. "This will turn all your anger into power, and you'll be able to control it, pong!"

"How exciting!" Rena exclaimed. Raven examined his improved weapon. The so-called Rage Preventer seemed to be attached at the very top of his arm as the pauldron on his shoulder was now enlarged and armoured with spikes that curved dangerously outward. Clearly Abbi had fulfilled her aesthetic desires by covering the whole limb in some foreign coal-black metal and adding touches of her own, although they did have a purpose as they seemed to insulate the burning heat that the Nasod core emitted. However, the most impressive part of her masterpiece had both Rena and Raven gasping in a mixture of excitement and awe. Part of his upper arm was reinforced and still attached to the machine, but it was his. Skin, bone and muscle.

"How did you-?"

"Oh! Well they left a bit behind for the claw to detect the control signals sent by your nerves, so I decided to expose that since it'll help you move it a lot smoother, pong!"

He smiled at the tiny rodent. "Thank you. I'll make sure all your hard work doesn't go to waste." His thoughts darkened quickly, ruminating over the uses he had for his new, modified machinery. Yet, almost as quickly as they had come, the feelings disappeared as Abbi beamed at him, rocking forwards and backwards on her platforms as she held her paws together behind her back. "Well, if that's all, I'll be off now, pong!" With a small skip she turned away, though not without turning to wave goodbye to them both. "I'll talk to you again, pong!"

The older Ponggo placed his paw in the palm of Raven's human hand. "I see both dark and light in you. Please, don't use it for the wrong purpose."

With that, the two scruffy animals disappeared down the hole with a "pop!" and the man collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

* * *

Adel and Abbi are good fun aren't they? Thanks for reading ^^

Stay tuned for Chapter 8! - Ducky


	8. Chapter 8

Ducky here :)

I'm definitely procrastinating from studying for my exams tomorrow by posting this, rip.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 8

A flash of green cut through the darkness, a familiar, warm burst of colour that he clung to as he was pulled to his senses.

"Raven!"

He looked around; they were no longer in the field and somehow had found their way back to the camp.

"There you are!"

Rena smiled down at him as her blurry figure leaned over him, silhouetted against the blank canvas of the tent roof. She extended a hand. "Easy does it."

With a grunt he took it and she drew her arm back, bringing his torso off of the ground and towards her so he could sit up. Close enough so that they could see every detail each other's faces. Rena's eyes widened as she took her hand out of his. "Wow...I never noticed this before."

"Noticed what?"

"It changed!"

"What do you mean?"

In confusion, he looked towards Rena, whose gaze was fixated on his hair. He was too caught up in marvelling at how her eyes were such a clear, bright green that he didn't hear her reply.

"W-what happened?"

"Let me show you."

She grabbed a hand mirror from beside her sleeping bag and brought it over. A patch above his forehead that had once been ebony black was now white, and it was clearly distinguishable from the rest of his dark mane. Rena's delicate fingers sorted through the stray strands of snowy hair until they began to form a wide, neat tuft.

"I think it happened from you using the arm a lot lately," she said, "It's definitely had some kind of effect on you."

Looking down to the newly modified Nasod claw, the white highlights, and even his new clothes, Raven almost felt like a different person - as if he had evolved. "Funny how you didn't try to attack me. I don't remember you doing that last time I played with your fur," she teased.

The man snorted.

Before she could continue, the sound of a gong rang through the camp and a certain commander's distinctive voice cut through the conversation; "DINNER!"

"Perfect timing, I could feel my stomach beginning to rumble," Rena giggled as she opened the tent flap, motioning for him to follow her.

Both could hear the scuffle of soldiers' feet outside, hurrying to their favourite meal after a long day of training under Lowe's tightening command. They could see him attempting to control the ravenous troops, though all in vain. Rena shook her head and laughed in her melodious, fluty way, skipping out towards the others though Raven had only just stood up, one hand on his dizzy temple. With a shake of his head, he moved out of the opening, surprised to see shades of purple, grey, and blue spread across the sky.

" _I was out longer than I thought,"_ he mused to himself.

Rena's unique hair colour made it much easier to spot her in the crowd of soldiers. Several men and women were tearing away at huge chunks of meat which had been roasting on a stick above the fire, much to her distaste. However, having heard the elf's rants about vegetarianism one too many times, they had set up a small dish beside the spitroast. It was filled to the brim with plants and vegetables the soldiers had foraged for themselves after applying their skills learnt from Rena's teachings days earlier. She clapped her hands in excitement, scooping out her own portion before moving to sit beside Lowe. One by one, the remainder of the group began to join the slowly forming circle. When they heard the familiar sound of Raven's heavy steps coming towards them, all scrambled to make a space right next to the elf, and so he moved towards the spot and sat down. Vision still unclear, it was difficult to see the faces of those near him but he had no trouble hearing them even over the background noise of other conversations.

"...it's a mess. The damage, it's worse than we previously thought."

"Worse?"  
"Yes, those in the city have tried to rebuild the damaged areas, but at a much slower rate than promised. It seems that the only work being funded are the restoration of the properties belonging to nobility, which is strange because they were hardly touched. More has to be done, more has to be done faster…"

"But this is a temporary camp," interjected another soldier, "We are only meant to stay temporarily!"

Shaking his head, Lowe sighed. "If you looked to the buildings, you'd see only shambles and wreckage there. Not only damaged, but uncared for. Cracks run through the walls as if the earth

opened yesterday, and all is so hectic that it is difficult for even our own messengers to report to us. Yes, it will take much much longer than just 'temporarily'." His gaze dropped to his half-uneaten food.

The words from Lowe's rant haunted Raven's thoughts, flashing through his mind over and over. " _Wreckage...damaged...shambles",_ with each word his anger rose.

"What can be done, Lowe?" Rena asked in a concerned tone.

"Very little, I'm afraid. Ruben is being choked out by nearby bigger cities like Elder because they think they have the right to force us into their fiefdom just because we're a small, traditional village and rely on farming. That's why we desperately need the money Velder is offering for us to protect against whatever monster did this, so we have to stay until they regain some kind of stability and pay up. Except the damage is far too great, so there's nothing we can do but wait." His voice stopped again, this time with more resignation than anger.

" _Alex; it must be his fault, all of it."_

Raven could hardly concentrate on the conversation that followed with the uncomfortable murmur that passed through the group, the many soldiers becoming more frustrated as they thought about having to stay away from their homes and their families. The grumbling of low voices, the hissing of the fire, and the muttering of an exasperated Lowe only contributed to his growing resentment for the man whom he believed had caused it all. Alex.

"We won't be able to leave for a long time, longer than we anticipated," the commander repeated to himself, "I'm worried about Ruben's safety even though we left half the troops over there. That Alex better stick to his end of the deal when this is all over."

Rena's centuries of experience with controlling her reactions was the only thing keeping her from yelling out that name in surprise. "Alex?"

"He's some high-up guy who has been paying troops from all over Elrios to defend from a possible second attack. He seems really freaked out, but then again, who wouldn't be?" a bearded soldier answered.

"He's the Captain of the Crow Mercenaries, right?"

"Yeah, and one of the wealthiest aristocrats in Velder."

"Strangely he never said who the perpetrator was. He could have deployed troops to help catch him!"

The troops nodded amongst themselves in agreement, but then jumped as Raven stood up all of a sudden. "Those nobles are nothing but scum," he spat, "They deserve to die."

With that, he tossed his uneaten dinner into the fire and stormed off, armoured shoes clanking in time with his metal limb.

* * *

He found himself whiling away the night perched at the edge of a rocky outcrop far from the camp. It was high enough to overlook the feebly twinkling lights of Velder but nowhere close enough for him to see the buildings, or what remained of them. No voices could be heard; there was only the wind peacefully rustling through the trees that stood undeterred and steadfast upon the lifeless cliff edge.

It was well past midnight when Raven returned to the campsite, trudging past the snuffed-out fire and the colourless, fabric tents that stood fluttering in the moonless dark like ghosts. Only one was lit, a small glow emanating from its interior. "With him in the camp, everyone's in danger."

Raven froze where he stood, noticing Lowe's distinct voice immediately..

"How do you know?" asked one of the nearby troops.

"He almost killed us on day one, and since then where has he been disappearing to every day?"

"Did you see his arm though?" another piped in, "It's changed."

"Enhanced no doubt, there's no telling what he could do now," Lowe answered, matter-of-factly.

"But he's been nice enough to us, a good guest."

"Maybe, but a friend? You saw how he reacted just then."  
"I wonder why…"  
"Something personal, no doubt."  
Lowe wasted no time in replying to them both. "Exactly why we can't trust him, who knows what kind of ulterior motive he has?"

Raven clenched his fists and his Nasod claw curled up with a sharp screech.

The voices stopped.

He cursed under his breath and prepared to make a run for it.

"That was a weird owl."

Shaking his head, the man returned to his tent before any other mishaps could occur. Besides, the voices had told him all he needed to know.

Much to his disappointment, Rena wasn't in the tent, which both relieved him and worried him. He didn't want to face her now, yet on the other hand, what if she didn't want to see him either? What if his sudden outburst made her change her mind, what if she heard what the soldiers said and agreed with them too? She already knew he was a monster and heard of the unforgivable crimes he had committed. If anything, her kindness and beautiful smile would be all of out of pity, not understanding or pardon. That must've been it, there was no alternative otherwise.

"Raven, you're back!" the subject of his thoughts exclaimed as she drifted gracefully into their tent, "I'm glad you are, I was beginning to get worried."

"I highly doubt you were."

"Of course I was!" she replied, moving to stand right in front of him. "I still am."

He turned away, refusing to look at her. "You don't need to lie any more, I can see right through you."

She laughed. "The hundreds of years I lived through taught me how to hide a lot of my thoughts and emotions so I doubt you do."

"No, Rena, I know," he sighed, "Just stop that act. I'm sick of it."

"There is no act."

"And there is no reason for you to continue pretending to treat me like I'm not a monster."

The elf didn't reply. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"D-don't-"

"I wouldn't hug a monster, would I now? I like you for the strength you have, not only the one outside but the one inside. You're intense and that makes every moment interesting with you. We can relate to each other in the way that we both have an unwavering sense of determination and virtue. Beneath that tough exterior I see a man capable of laughing, trusting and being affectionate. You're human and I have never been fake to you for a single second, so why can't you see that already?"

He shrugged her off roughly and glared. "I already told you I was sick of your lies. Don't talk to me again." Raven crawled into his bed and turned away, signalling the end of the conversation. Sometime after that, the elf dozed off and didn't even manage to get one hour of sleep before she woke up with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Rena opened her eyes with a start; something was wrong, yet nothing in her immediate line of sight seemed misplaced or unusual. In the darkness her eyes could make out the bare roof of the tent and the shadowy outline of almost everything else. The corner of the tent flap had been hastily secured and the fabric flapped back and forward in the wind. The nighttime breeze was stronger, colder, and more present than she had felt in a while. She opened her eyes even wider, denying to herself that it had happened, and yet looking around, it had.

The space next to her, where Raven should have been, was empty. He was gone.

* * *

Leave a review if you like what we're doing/have anything you'd like us to improve on! Izzy will have a lot more free time so we can get some stuff in the works soon :)


	9. Chapter 9

Hey, it's Izzy! I'm back from my awesome trip to New York and now I'm in New Zealand for an international competition. RIP me.

And so we reach the grand finale of this story!  
Yep, you read that right! This is the final chapter before the epilogue of this 10 chapter story!

But...maybe...you haven't heard the last of us. This story was some old thing we wrote a while ago, but having just graduated, I do have some time on my hands - although I'm still busy af, I just don't have to balance school with music - it's all just music now. So I'd like to do some writing when I'm free at night, and Ducky will pop in to help me out too. So if I can bring myself to undertake such a task, I may write an Elsword high school story, which is very cliche...EXCEPT it will have an exploration of real issues and more mature themes. Idk! Maybe lemme know what you guys think?

Anyway, thanks for reading all the way up to this point and we hope this has been an enjoyable story for you :)

\- Izzy

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Chapter 9

Raven raced through the silent streets of Velder, the darkness of the night closing in on his solitary figure. His footsteps pounded on the crumbling pavement, reverberating off the walls and scorched pathways that constituted what was once a thriving city of trade and crafts. All that remained now was a haunting, blackened shell of a past that should have reminded the man of his wrongdoing but instead further compelled him to unleash his wrath. Each stride became more filled with purpose, creating a trail leading directly towards where the nobility of Velder lay sound asleep.

Raven passed the disintegrating foundations of the training barracks he had spent the majority of his life living in and the shattered windows of Seris' beloved flower shop, suppressing any sense of sentimentality before it could change his mind. Nothing was going to stop him.

After all, it was Alex who had taken all this away in the first place.

The winding uphill path lined by neatly-trimmed topiaries informed the man of how close he was to his target and so the steep climb did nothing to deter him. It did, however, make him realise that the secluded nature of the suburb where the aristocrats lived would have been why they were barely touched when he had first lashed out in a blind fit of rage. Before long, a row of imposing buildings came into view; they were whiter, neater, and grander than all the other residences in the city by far. Long flags extended down from the sides of their high roofs, emblazoned with their respective family crests in a seemingly deliberate display of their superiority. Unlike the wooden structures belonging to the rest of Velder, their walls were made of hand-carved marble, and the arrogant air of Augustan distinction the buildings portrayed was enough to drive that bitter feeling of resentment even further into Raven's stomach.

As he reached the towering stone gates of Alex's estate, the man noticed two guards with pikes blocking the entrance. They immediately pointed their long weapons at him when they registered his appearance and metal arm.

"Where's Alex?"

"Stand down."

"If you knew any better you'd be the one doing that," Raven snarled, "Now where is he?"

"We wouldn't share that information with Velder's most-wanted criminal," the taller guard

growled, "Stand down or we'll use force."

Raven noticed that the other man's knees were shaking. "I destroyed Velder. You two share the same fate if you don't tell me where that bastard is right now.."

"H-He's not h-"

"We have reinforcements. This is your last chance to surrender."

Raven's left arm whirred threateningly.

"Monster," the guard spat.

If anyone were watching from the distance, they would have seen a sudden, blinding light explode from a corner of Velder. Immediately the front of the property was blown into tiny fragments, marble shrapnel flying in all directions. Raven violently launched flames and missiles at everything in his path, his own body crying in pain as each blast of white-hot flame blitzed through his arm and towards the nobles' residences. It was unstoppable, taking control of his mind completely and feasting on his frustration until his own soul turned as dark as the moonless sky.

Bloodcurdling screams rang through the air as people woke to find themselves on fire, or that the person across the corridor had been completely vaporized along with everything nearby. Rushing in all directions, they tripped over scorched bodies and fallen debris, only to run into another attack in what had become an inescapable furnace, enclosed by a dome of pure energy much like the replication of a miniature nuclear bomb he had dropped that day when his training session went horribly wrong. Several victims collapsed out of exhaustion and suffocation from the smoke, but most lay dead, their bodies warped and deformed until they were hardly recognisable.

 _His comrades all lay dead, their bodies sprawled across the blood-soaked ground. Alex's weapon was red with their blood._

A voice of salvation called through the mayhem.

"The reinforcements have arrived!"

As Raven blasted the final building into smithereens, he felt a cluster of arrows plant themselves into his back. With a roar, he turned around to face the small army that was gathering just outside the gates. Clusters of soldiers merged together, representing the area they came from with their uniforms and distinctive weapons - there were the Knights of Feita with their olive green tunics and halberds, closely followed by…

The Ruben Patrol Team.

Through the tongues of fire billowing around him and the unfamiliar mass of foreign troops his glare met a pair of eyes that belonged to none other than Lowe. At first, they widened with confusion but it didn't take long for a look of understanding to pass over the man's face. A second volley of arrows embedded themselves into Raven's exposed side and in a fit of rage, he fired a series of explosive spikes that decimated the archers who had dared to shoot at him. When he turned back, the captain's face was lost in the sea of soldiers. Bodies flew through the air, either hit by Raven's turbulent throws, or pierced by the Nasod spears that followed closely behind. The militants formed a wall of focused expressions, pushing the corpses of their comrades aside in never ending lines, determined to take the rogue beast down. In the chaos, it was difficult for anyone to see more than a few feet in front of themselves for the air thick with fire and debris. Raven's own vision was clouded with the intensity of his rage and uncontrollable power.

A group of Red Knights from Hamel circled him, the sharpened tips of their swords closing in.

 _As he emerged from the Black Crow barracks, a group of soldiers surrounded him. Raven let his sword drop the ground with a clang and lifted his head, only to come face-to-face with his closest friend, Alex._

He swiped the weapons out of their hands effortlessly and crushed them in his fist.

They were blown outwards by the sheer energy of his strikes, hurled with such force that the soldiers' armour crumpled as soon as their bodies slammed into the ground. Still, the commanders were determined, and even more lines of troops were ordered to charge towards the centre of the destruction. Moving further from the nobles' district, the night became darker and darker, no longer lit by burning buildings. He ran onwards, batting attackers away as if they were flies, each death being nothing but an inconvenience. Raven no longer saw their faces as they approached, only blank pawns moving in one after the other; they seemed small, insignificant, only deterring him from finally having what he needed and craved so hungrily.

Though they came upon him with different weapons, ranging from swords of all kinds to long spears to barbed arrows, each burned in his flames or were crushed by the unrelenting Nasod claw. The limb itself was growing into a being, muscles and tendons contorting over the mechanical weapon to form a human-like arm, except with leathery black skin and veins of liquid fire.

His footsteps became more staggered and irregular as the ground transitioned from smooth walkways to the cobblestone roads that wound their way towards the Southern Gate of Velder.

The army had thinned out here, but the few that remained immediately rushed to pull down the huge, wooden portcullis that blocked entrance to the top of the wall that served as one of the highest vantage points in the city.

And then he saw a man standing behind the closing door, silver braid intact and tied immaculately by a scarlet ribbon. There was a familiar, infuriating smirk on his face.

Alex.

" _You were born to live a life in the dirt. Know your place." Alex smiled smugly before slamming the heavy, oak doors behind him._

The next of his never-ceasing attacks were frenzied and hysterical as he hounded his way towards where the man whose existence had been tormenting him for so long stood watching the destruction. With each of his strides, the soldiers began to move faster, enclosing him on all sides. Raven ripped through the crowd, forming a trail of carnage along his path, though more reinforcements quickly swarmed in. As the edge of the door drew closer to the ground, Alex began to slowly disappear from view.

"No!" Raw anger exploded from him as his prize slowly slipped from his grasp yet once again.

 _He slipped away before Raven could say another word, before he could beg for his so-called brother to come back, before he could ask what he had done to deserve such a fate._

The inferno grew and grew, higher and thicker, spiralling high into the night sky as if Raven himself had all the unrestricted power of the sun. He pummeled his fist into the dense wood, splinters exploding from the shattered doorway. All confidence had left Alex and he turned to run at the sight of the whirlwind of fury approaching him.

"Alex!" Raven yelled, as the fires came to a sudden stop, plunging them back into the darkness of night.

Having reached the end of the wall and a thirty-metre drop, the other man skidded to a halt.

"What do you want Raven? What is there for you left to take?!" Alex hollered wildly, his hands covered in blisters from the sheer heat.

"I'd like my life back, but that's too late so I'll take yours in exchange," snarled Raven

"And what will you even get out of it? Take a look around Raven, you have taken more lives in your worthless quest for revenge than I ever have. You are responsible for this destruction. You are no human, Raven, so kill me if you want! Killing me is easy for a monster."

He had spent countless hours waiting for the revenge that was now in his grasp, yet Alex still had that cocky smile on his face.

Fragments of the wall split and fell off as Raven knocked him to the ground. Blood flew out of Alex's mouth as each punch landed, the whites of his teeth stained red in a bloody smirk. Emerging from his throat was a deformed cackle which quickly turned into coughs and gurgles as Raven struck even harder, completely relentless even when there was little of the other man left to attack. With a final roar, he gripped the man's neck and twisted it until there was an audible snap, then threw the limp body off the wall.

Each part of his body suddenly felt like it was slowly dragging him down, and as the exhaustion overwhelmed him he drooped over, his forehead resting against the cold, stone ground.

"Raven!"

He lifted his head slightly, vaguely seeing a female figure run towards him.

"Raven…"

He couldn't recognise the distinctive pointed, elven ears or the distraught voice calling to him.

With one hand on his knee, he pushed himself up from the ground and started to move across the bridge to where she was approaching from the other side. The distance between the pair became smaller as their footsteps became faster and more frequent. Rena's eyes were wide with concern for him, seeing the gaping wounds bleeding through his clothes and arrows lodged into his back.

"Oh Raven, look at you." She sharply inhaled as she got a closer look of the bloody lesions covering his exhausted body.

Rena lifted a hand, intending on pulling back his destroyed clothing to see the extent of his injuries. Suddenly, she found herself in a choke hold, having been yanked by her exposed wrist. He growled, baring his teeth as if ready to rip out her throat..

"Raven, what are you doing?"

An animalistic snarl.

His grip tightened even further, pressing into her neck until angry red marks began to form under her skin. Rena was locked in the man's hold, yet rather than struggle to escape, she saw the opportunity to wordlessly call for the real him to come back. But his eyes were filled with betrayal and pain - there was no glint of recognition despite how desperately she searched to find it. They stared back at her, both intensely focused and distant, as if his rage and ambition had overtaken him to the point where the Raven she knew no longer controlled his own actions, not to mention his mind.

A sword was unsheathed silently behind him.

The smallest glimmer shining off of the metal was enough for Rena to spot it from behind the offender's back, but still she was unarmed and unable to escape from his firm hold. Pointing it directly towards Raven's heart, the soldier raised his weapon without making a sound, ready to strike. With each attempt to break free he only clenched tighter, there was not even time to desperately warn him of the attack.

"No!"

Rena twisted herself around, pushing him to where she had stood. The large sword pierced through her torso, its square blade escaping through the other side. Shocked, the young boy of a soldier let go, causing her to stumble forward and crash into Raven's chest.

A pair of crimson eyes gazed down at them. Realising what he had done to the kind elf he had met in Lowe's camp, the red-haired soldier fled, sprinting as quickly as his shaking legs would allow. Rena lifted her head slightly to gaze at Raven for the last time, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. With what was left of her breath, she whispered to him.

"I love you."

As she uttered those final words, the man's anger seemed to evaporate. He gently rolled her body down so that she lay on her back draped across his forearms, and her emerald eyes, still sparkling despite being so close to death, looked up towards his. They blinked slower and slower as she sighed, the weight of her body feeling as if it were sinking into the ground. With a gentle exhale, they finally came to rest, and all of her lay still.

 _Her limp, lifeless body lay sprawled on the ground._

"Rena…"

A trail of small footprints led off into the distance, but the young knight was long gone. As he followed them with his eyes, still holding tightly onto the elf, he could see the sun peeking over the horizon and its warm light slowly spreading over what was left of Velder. Raven's knees buckled, leaving him hunched protectively over Rena's limp body. The final traces of darkness left the cloudless sky and gradually began to illuminate her tranquil expression and the long green strands of hair tangled between the metal talons of his claw.

* * *

:'( RIP Rena you will not be forgotten.

As the next chapter will be our final chapter, we will reply to the rest of the reviews there as a thank you to those who have reviewed! Your feedback is really appreciated 3

See you in a few days!


	10. Chapter 10

Well guys, this is it! The final chapter!

To the people who have read and followed our progress this entire story, thank you so much! We hope it was one you enjoyed, as tragic as it is.

As this is the final chapter, here are our replies to the rest of your reviews!

 **DigiSinister:** We are so glad that you like our story - reviews like yours are so encouraging. Thank you so much, and we hope it was worth sticking through to the end!

 **Guest:** Thanks! Despite the ending, we're glad you found it sweet!

 **Kiyoshiin:** Oh you! We don't see too many people with actual photos of themselves in their bios and we're both potatoes, but if we look "fiiiiine" I guess it was worth the risk ;)

 **EternaPhoenix:** WE'RE SO SORRY here have a hug

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Chapter 10 - Epilogue

The snow was warm. It fell in soft tears that collected between the linen folds of Raven's black shirt before trickling into a puddle of dissolving crystals. More droplets fell from the clumps of matted, black and white hair that covered his eyes; they slowly traced the edge of his clenched jaw and dripped into the snow. Raven barely noticed how much he was shivering, too drained to think of anything but lifting each foot up and and placing it down, his stride wobbling and lilted.

And then he saw it.

It was easy to miss in the endless ocean of whiteness. Its tender bloom peeked out from the snow between Raven's shoes; it was barely there, barely surviving. A bending stem ending in petals that curled around a golden centre protectively, hovering it with seeming gentleness over the blanket of soft ice. It had a distinctive, delicate beauty, and it reminded him too much of…

" _Say, Raven. When Velder gets rebuilt, what do you want to do?"_

" _I can't go back to Velder."_

" _Okay say you could run off somewhere and have a completely new start. What would you do?"_

" _That's not possible."_

" _You're the most pessimistic person I've met in my centuries of living. Come on!"_

" _Okay...I would settle down and buy a house."_

" _And?"_

" _Train. Become a mercenary again."_

" _And?"_

" _That's it."_

" _That's it? Would you be ready to love again?"_

" _Definitely not."_

" _Really? What if...you were slowly starting to have feelings for someone else and they felt the same way? You wouldn't have to throw your past behind, but you'd get to have a chance at creating another story."_

" _Nobody would love me with this arm."_

" _What if they didn't care about that arm?"_

" _Then...I suppose it could work."_

"AAARGH!"

His roar echoed through the empty landscape, surrounding Raven with the sounds of his own anguish. Somehow this insignificant plant was infuriating, as if its determination not to die in the cold meant to mock him personally. Mocking him, just as Alex had, even up to his final moments when he fell under the Nasod claw with a despicable grin on his face that still haunted Raven to this day.

But Alex was still human.

And he was a monster. A monster who had flattened Velder in a fiery rage and gained nothing from it other than the blood stains on his clothes and an emptiness in his chest even more painful than flower, this tiny snowdrop only reminded him of someone who like it, was beautiful despite the harshness of her surroundings. The heartbreak as he held her lifeless body was unbearable and lingered with him no matter how hard he tried to shake it. She was gone.

Raven raised his fist, ready to crush the ground where the plant was.

 _Don't do that!_

This tiny glimpse of life, alone in the barren field of snow, deserved to disappear into lifelessness.

 _It hasn't had the chance to bloom._  
It deserved to feel as empty as he did, it deserved to feel his agony and his loss.

 _A symbol of hope and new beginnings…_

He dropped his arm, looking at the snowdrop. Its white petals turned in the chilly breeze, blowing over the ice to look back at him, but he had already disappeared into the distance.

The End

* * *

We forgot that the last chapter was a lot shorter so in hindsight we should've posted this right after the past one, so sorry about that!

SO THAT'S IT! THE END OF THIS JOURNEY!

We hope you guys enjoyed this fic! Please please please let us know if you did, it would really mean the world to us!

Goodbye everyone! We hope to see you in the near future! :)

 _Izzy and Ducky, out!_


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